Frailty
by Judge-Douglas-Mason
Summary: Sara has gone missing and Jim finds her, but will she let him in or shut him out?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Nope, don't own them. Wish I did, but I don't. Que Sera Sera.

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No one has seen nor heard from her in days, which in and of itself is very out of the ordinary. Usually she's the first one in and the last one out, but for three days she's gone missing. We've, that is, several of the lab personnel, tried to contact her countless times and no one has gotten any sort of response. I know she screens her calls and as I pull up in front of her apartment and park my car, I wonder if I'd have any better luck than Nicky or Warrick did. However, I do have one advantage though; a house key. A few months back she went out of town and asked me to bring in the mail and water Robert, her plant. Walking up the stone path to the landing outside her door, I raise my balled up fist and knock a few times; nothing. I knock again and then call out.

"Sar, its Jim. I'm coming in."

I pull out the key and slowly open the door to see the state of things. The place is a complete and total mess, not like last time I was here. Now, there are empty beer bottles, unwashed dishes and a general slovenly appearance to the place. Then it was spotless, almost like no one ever stayed there for any length of time, but to see the place now its disturbing. Turning on the lights I can get a better look at the mess. I can see that at least the mail has been being brought in as there's something post marked the day before yesterday. Carefully and systematically, I walk through the small apartment looking everywhere she might be. She's not on the couch, nor on the love seat, so I go to her room and for all the covers on the bed, I can barely make her out. Her left foot sticking out from under the covers, she stirs a bit, then settles back in and resumes her soft snore.

What would her reaction to my being here be? Would she be upset? Would she turn her back to me? Maybe she's sick, in which case, she should be in hospital if she's been in bed this whole time. Carefully I approach the bed and gently sit beside her and watch her sleep for a few moments. God, she's beautiful, even when she's kind of pale like she is now. On the bedside table there is a sort of diary, that's that I assume it is. I pick it up an read the last entry which happens to be from yesterday, some time around 04:00hrs.

"Sometimes I wonder why I even try. I do my job and I do it well, but neither he nor anyone else ever seems to notice. I've been busting my ass ever since I got here and Its like I'm some sort of ghost. A ghost that collects evidence, processes it, catalogs it and solves the case. A very productive ghost, but a ghost nonetheless. The only one that's noticed, the only one that's said, "Hey, good job" or something like that is Jim. He's always there for me, even for piddly shit. He's a good man. I feel really bad about the "Ellie" situation, but there's nothing I can do about that. But even though he said I could come to him with anything, I don't think I could with this. This is too big, too scary and I'm afraid of what his or anyone else's reaction would be. I like to think of myself as a strong woman, able to handle myself and defend myself, but I just don't know what happened. I guess I was just caught off my guard. How could I allow that to happen? I'm "Stone Cold Sara", but I guess stone cold isn't what it used to be, not what I remember. Now I'm weak and I feel defeated, too ashamed to go into work and face the questions and constant badgering from the lab guys. Maybe I should just transfer to another department; start over new. New, where no one knows me, knows what happened or how I let myself and everyone else down.

I'm going back to bed now. If I get fired, I get fired. At this point I don't even care anymore. Maybe it would just be best if I came in when the guys weren't there and handed in my resignation. It'll be hard, no one said it wouldn't be, they're like my family……..but they just wouldn't understand."

I replace the book on the table and wonder what could be so bad, what could have happened that was so traumatic that it would make her want to leave us, leave me. Carefully, I lean in and gently peel back the covers to see a most horrific sight. She's got bruises all over her face and a very nasty gash above her left eye that looks like she stitched it herself. I wonder what the rest of her body looks like, and not in a bad way either. I carefully untuck the covers from her and gently pull them down her shoulders and back to see more bruises; bad bruises. They're a deep purple and some are so dark they look almost black. She needs to go to hospital. But after three days, if there are any skeletal fractures or broken bones they've most likely already began to fuse back together.

I cover her back up and gently brush the hair from her face to see more trauma. My God, what happened? Unable to keep quiet for any longer, I gently rub her shoulder that happens not to be bruised and whisper her name. It takes a few tries, but after a few moments she comes around and mumbles something.

"Sar, its me, Jim. Come on, Honey. Wake up." I say a bit more sternly than I would have liked

I see her swollen eyes flutter open and when she sees me she turns her head away and tells me to leave…………..yeah, as if. She needs medical attention and if I have to drag her out of bed, she's gonna get it.

"Sara, come on. I'm not going anywhere. Come on, look at me."

From under the covers I can hear her say that I wouldn't like what I'd see and to that I just replied that I didn't care. Not that I don't care about her or what happened, but that I don't care what she looks like. I think I've seen enough already to have a fairly accurate summation of what sorts of injuries she'd sustained. I reach over and gently try to right her and from the pressure of my hands, I guess, I can hear her wince, but she rolls anyway. Now I see what I hope are the extent of her injuries. Her torso is covered in more bruises and some scratches and around her neck is a big nasty bruise in the form of a hand print. From puffy lids, she looks at me and begins to cry. Without thinking, I kick off my shoes and lay beside her, holding her to me as her sobs become louder and more violent. She grabs hold of my waist and pulls me to her and we lay there for a while, she crying and me comforting her.

Its a few hours later and she's back asleep. I can hear and feel her breathing patterns have changed and there's a little whistle coming from her nose. Her grasp has loosened on me and as I carefully slide from under her arm, I ease out of bed and walk to the foot end of the bed, lifting the covers slowly and delicately. Her legs are pretty beat up and there's more damage all the way from her feet to her bare naked thighs. She's naked and under other circumstances I'd be having some very naughty thoughts, but as I stare at the marks on her upper thighs I can see that they go all the way up to her nether regions……..she was raped. At this realization my blood begins to boil and my knuckles turn white with fury. Whoever did this is gonna pay in a big, BIG way. I slowly let the covers fall back down onto her lower extremities and I'm frozen. How could this happen to my Sara. Not that she's mine in the relationship sense, but mine as in my friend, my sister, my co-worker and my charge. When I say that she's my charge, I mean that since she came out here to Vegas I sort of took it upon myself to keep an eye out for her, make sure she stays out of trouble. Evidently I failed in that department. However, I won't fail to find out who did this and make them pay in the worst way possible.

Coming back to her bedside, I drop to my knees and cross my arms on the bedside next to her, just looking, watching her sleep. I wonder if I should call the lab and explain things. But I can't because I don't even know what all happened. All I see is the aftermath. Besides, it would be wrong of me to do that. Sara has to do that in her own time. I will, however, play buffer. Placing a gentle kiss on her head wound, I leave the room, close the door behind me a bit and step into the breezeway to make a call.

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Sitting in his office, Grissom is looking over some case files when his cell rings. He pulls it from his pant's pocket and answers it.

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"Gil, this is Jim. I found Sara and she needs time off. How much vacation time does she have? Good, that'll be great. No, she's not. I can't say. No, its not that I won't say, its that I can't, because right now I'm not exactly sure what happened. Trust me, she needs this. I wouldn't advise that. You wouldn't be well received, nor would anyone else, I suspect. I have a key and let myself in. Anyway, let me go and she'll be back when her time is up. Me? Most likely not, but probably tomorrow or the day after. Ok."

Stepping back inside, I return to the bedroom where she's still asleep and resume my position beside her in bed. Almost as though she felt me get back in, she scooted up beside me and grabbed hold again, this time squeezing tighter and mumbling something I couldn't quite make out. It wasn't until the sun had gone down and the stars had come out that she finally woke and seeing me beside her, she made her best effort to get up, wincing and growling the whole time. This wakes me up and as I look over at her, I place a gentle hand on her cheek, whispering.

"Everything'll be fine. I'll run you a hot bath. Would you like that?"

Her lips cracked and dotted with dried blood from the healing process, she tries to speak, but just ends up nodding her head to the affirmative. I get up and in the bathroom I find some bath salts that smell like pine trees. The label says aromatherapy and that it'll relax stiff and sore muscles, so I dump in a healthy dose and as I turn around I can see her standing in the doorway in an oversized t-shirt. I can see the pain in her eyes and as the water runs into the tub I approach her and as gently as possible, wrap my arms around her and reassure her that everything will work out in the end. After that long embrace, I shut off the water, help her from her shirt and holding her hand to steady her, help her into the tub. She doesn't seem to care that I'm seeing her naked, and even though my mind knows she is, I'm not looking at her naughty bits, I'm looking at her whole body covered in cuts, scratches and bruises. As she slides down to totally submerge herself from the neck down, I take that opportunity to leave her be and begin the process of cleaning up her apartment.

She's been in there for a while, I think as I do the dishes. I wonder if she's ok in there. I place the last plate on the drying rack and pop my head in the bathroom to see her eyes closed and she's inhaling deeply…….at least she looks relaxed. In her room, I find a pair of sweat pants and t-shirt and set them, along with a pair of panties on the toilet seat so she can dress in private.

As I come in from taking out the last bit of trash, she emerges from the bathroom, her hair wet and a bit tangled and she hands me a comb.

"Would you mind? I'm a bit sore." She asks

She moves over to the couch and sits down and from behind her, I work out the knots and grab a ponytail tie from around her wrist. There, her hair is done and she's beautiful. She's always been beautiful, and now, even given her physical state, she still is.


	2. Chapter 2

I want to ask, but at the same time I don't want to press, I can tell by the way she's looking at me that she's dying to get it out of her system. She turns to me and simply says five words.

"I let my guard down."

Slightly stunned by the simplicity of her statement, I'm momentarily dumbstruck. When I manage to respond, all I can do is ask how.

"I walked right by him and I knew something was up, it wasn't until half a block later when he was right behind me that I knew something big was going to happen. He was on me before I knew it and when I came to, I was a mess. I just came home, assessed the damage, took care of it and lay down." She explained

"Assess the damage? What are you, a used car? Honey, you need to go to the hospital."

"I'm fine. I just don't want to talk about it."

"Do you remember what he looks like?"

"Like I said, I don't want to talk about it. I appreciate you're being here, Jim. But I'd rather be alone right now."

Without hesitation the words flew from my mouth.

"Not a friggin' chance. You're coming with me and that's it. When I was cleaning I couldn't find your wallet, so he might have it, which means he might come back."

"Yeah, he got my whole bag. But if he did have it don't you think he'd have come back by now?"

I can't believe her attitude towards all of this. She's talking like nothing happened, like its no big deal, like its just some sort of ordinary thing that happens all the time. I mean, sad to say, it does happen all the time, that's the shame of it. She's seen the victims and what they go through, but why does she have to be so damned casual about it. Me, I'm freaking out inside. I want to find the arsehole, take him to some dark alley and pound the living daylights out of him, as he deserves nothing less.

There are so many questions I've got but again, I don't want to press and since she said she doesn't want to talk about it I'll leave it be for the time being. Right now, I'm gonna set the terms.

"Pack up some stuff. You're coming to stay with me for a while, or at least until we catch this bastard. You've got time off of work so you can heal and come back good as new. I'm gonna be right there with you. I'm taking two days leave. So let's go."

Looking at me, I could tell she was pissed. Her bruised face was red and her scratched knuckles white. She just looked at me in that way that makes you wanna say "Oh, shit. I screwed up", but I don't care. She can be pissed at me all she wants. My top priority at this point is her safety and in my opinion the safest place for her to be is with me, at my house.

"You had no right to do that, Brass. I didn't request time off. You've no right to interfere with my personal affairs."

I knew she'd get like this. In the back of my mind, while I was talking to Grissom, I knew she'd be pissed, but at this point I could care less. She's obviously in some form of denial and while I'm not her father, nor her lover, I am her friend and friends take care of each other……that's what I'm going to do. Standing up, I move towards her room and call over my shoulder.

"If you don't pack up, I will."

I know where she keeps her stuff. Her travel bag is in the closet, her stocked toiletry kit is under the sink and from there its just a matter of clothing. I grab her bag, unzip it and lay it on the bed. From one side of her chest of drawers I garb a hand full of panties and a few bras, as well as some socks. From the other side I snatch up a few pairs of jeans, some shirts and pack everything neatly in the bag, zipping it up. All while I'm doing this I'm still struck by her casual attitude toward things. A pair of trainers in one hand and a pair of boots in the other, I knot the laces and sling them over my shoulder as I carry everything out into the living room and set it on the floor by the front door.

She's staring at me now and truth be told, I really don't care. She can give me the evil eye all she wants but that's not going to change my mind. She's coming with me if I have to go all caveman and throw her over my shoulder and carry her kicking and screaming from here.

"Jim, I'm not leaving." She said in very stern tones

"Yes you are. Its not safe here. Look, you can come willingly or I can carry you. The decision is yours, make it before I get back from tossing this stuff in my trunk!"

Yeah, I know I was a bit abrasive and demanding, but she's stubborn beyond all stubbornness. As I pop the boot and drop her bag and shoes in, I brace my hands on the edge of the trunk frame and close my eyes. My knees are shaking right now as are my hands. Why does she have to be so damned difficult? I'm just trying to look out for her and she acts like I'm doing something wrong. All I want to do is to take care of her and she's acting like a child. I swear, sometimes I just wanna take her over my knee and give her a good spanking, and not in a good way either. Walking back up to her place, she's still on the couch as I enter the room.

Ok, now I'm furious. I grab her keys and as I walk over to her I can see that she's at least put her shoes on, which is a good sign. She looks up at me, her eyes wet from crying. I sit beside her and pull her to me, she needs……….well, if not me, then someone else, but since I'm the only one here, she's got me and I'm not going anywhere. After a few minutes I stand up and take her hand, leading her from the apartment and to my car, locking her door behind us. Seating her in the front passenger seat, I buckle her in and come around to my side, climbing in and doing the same.

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All through the ride from her place to mine she just stares out the window and says nothing. Swallowing hard, I reach over and take her hand which is resting on the centre console. Much to my surprise she gives a squeeze and not to my surprise, she starts crying again. I've never seen her like this before. I've seen her angry, furious, happy, giddy, pensive, sad and unsettlingly quiet, but I guess anyone who's gone through what she's going through might be in the same shape. The crying is good. It means she's dealing with it and not burying it. In the end, after the crying stops, she'll begin to heal, spiritually as well as physically.

Pulling up in the drive, I shut the car off and pop the trunk. She just sits there and stares at my house. I wonder if she'll like it. I mean Its not a bachelor pad or anything, but the style is definitely male in décor. I've got some sports stuff around but not too much. The guest room should be good for her. It's got its own bathroom and a nice big bed with soft sheets. The kitchen is, apart from the living room, where I spend most of my time. I love to cook and if having her here means that I don't eat meat for a while, I'll make do……I'd hate to offend.

I drop her bags in the living room and go back out to collect her. Her stillness and silence is slightly troubling to me right now. She doesn't even unbuckle herself, she just sits there as I do it for her. Taking her hand, I slowly take her and close the door, locking up. Not that I need to or anything, there's no crime in this neighbourhood. Maybe its to do with the fact that there are about five police officers that live on my street. It's a long street, about seven blocks and besides the officers, there are enough busybodies around that everyone knows everyone else's business. You can't scratch your ass without the blue haired old lady across the street knowing about it. I guess that's the one drawback to living here, but so it goes.

Inside, I keep her hand in mine as I lead her to the guest room and set everything at the foot end of the bed. She lays down and rolls onto her side, her back to me. All this sleep can't be good for her. I see it as a way of escapism. If you're asleep you don't face and deal with your problems. However, if she wants to sleep right now I won't stop her.

"You nap and I'll either be in my office or somewhere else around. Just give a shout."

I remove her shoes and cover her up with a throw from the wardrobe and leave her to sleep. Out in the kitchen I start cooking, as the dishes in her apartment looked like they'd been sitting there for a while……..who knows when the last time she ate was? Opening the fridge, I see that I have little in the way of ingredients for vegetarian cuisine, so I make a list of things to pick up at the market. I pocket the one piece of paper and scribble a note for Sara so that if she wakes while I'm gone she won't worry. Carefully opening the guest room door, I set the note on the bedside table and take a few moments to watch her sleep. She's on her left side now, facing me and her brows are all scrunched up like she's dreaming.

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"No! Stop!" she shouts as she shoots bolt upright in bed

Looking around, she listens for Jim but can't hear anything. She's sweating and scared. Scrambling out of bed, she searches the house for Jim but can't find him.

"JIM!"

She breaks down, her back sliding down the wall leaving her in a crouched position and sobs.


	3. Chapter 3

Returning home with groceries, Jim opened his front door and unloaded them in the kitchen. Immediately afterward he went to the guest room to find Sara not in bed, but in the far corner of the room cowering, her eyes wide with horror, her skin slick with sweat and when he approached her he tried to do so in the most cautious and careful way he could, but as he took that firs step, her gaze moved to stare at his feet and she moved away from him. Already being in the corner didn't afford her much room to retreat, so she just tightened up and hugged her knees to her chest. He had seen scared before, but not this amount of scared. Looking at her face, it appeared that she didn't recognize him. He crouched down, maintaining a safe distance from her so as not to scare her any more than she already was, and sat about six feet from her. He reached out a hand, palm up and gestured for her to take it. The advance, however slight it was seemed only to exacerbate the situation, so he drew his hand back and placed both of them in his lap as he looked at her. They just sat there for a while looking at each other before Jim spoke.

"Sara, Honey, Its me, Jim. What happened?"

There was no immediate response, but after a couple of moments she seemed to snap back to reality. Her breathing steadied, she loosened up and began to cry a bit. Through her tears and sobs she managed an explanation.

"I had a nightmare. I woke up and you were gone. I was alone."

He replied in the most gentle tones he could manage.

"I went to market for food. I left you a note. I'm so sorry. Maybe I should have woken you, but I wanted to let you sleep." He explained

"Don't leave me, Jim. Don't leave me alone."

"I'm not going anywhere."

His heart swelling, he, on his hands and knees, approached her and this time she was much more receptive. He sat beside her and pulled her into a hug that seemed to have lasted forever. When he was satisfied she was in a better frame of mind, he released her, stood up and offered her his hand again, pulling her up to him. They moved out of the guest room and into the living room where she sat on the couch and he went to the kitchen.

"I picked up some vegetarian friendly food. I got carrots, tofu, I didn't know if you're vegan so I got soy milk and some macro-biotic stuff as well." He said

"I'm fine, thanks. I'm not hungry."

"Honey, you've got to eat something. How bout' I make some three cheese lasagna?"

"I'm not hungry."

"Well, maybe by the time it's done cooking you will be. The remote is on the coffee table, so if you wanna flip some channels, feel free."

Jim knew there was a hockey game on later that day, but given Sara's state, he decided to let her have the clicker…….maybe that might do something to cheer her up. She might find something that interests her and it might take her mind off of things. Moving from the kitchen to the couch, Jim sat a comfortable distance from Sara and kicked off his shoes and propped his feet on the coffee table. Looking over at her, he patted his lap and she lay on her side, her head in his lap and her left hand on his thigh. Ordinarily he would be incredibly turned on by her, her position and her touches, but now was certainly not the time for that. Now she needed comfort and reassurance, and that, he could not only offer, but give. They set there until for a while until the doorbell went off. Craning his neck to look though the glass on his front door he could see it was Grissom. Patting a sleeping Sara on the back, he woke her and told her who was at the door. Like a flash, she jumped up and flew to the guest room and closed the door behind her. Jim took this as meaning that she didn't want to see him, so he got up and let Grissom in. Not wanting to be discourteous, Jim offered him something to drink.

While Jim was in the kitchen Grissom noticed Sara's keys on the coffee table and knew that she was there. When Jim returned Gil questioned him. Neither confirming nor denying that he not only knew what happened to Sara, or that he knew where she was, Gil developed a stern tone.

"Look, I'm worried. She misses work and then you ask for three weeks vacation time for her. I just want to see her and make sure she's fine, she's ok." He said

"She'll be fine, but she needs the time off. She would have asked for it herself, but she was in no position, so I did it for her." Jim stated

"I want to see her."

"She's not receiving visitors right now."

"Jim!"

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Hearing all of this from the guest room, Sara rooted through one of her bags and pulled out a digital camera and took a few snaps of her arms and legs. Maybe that would appease Grissom.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Getting up, Jim went to the guest room and just before opening the door he noticed the camera on the floor just outside of the door. He picked it up and recalled the images. Seeing them, Jim smiled.

"Good idea, Sar." He said to himself

Returning to the couch, Jim handed the camera and it's images to Gil and as he looked them over he looked horrified. He looked at the images several more times and then set the camera on the table n front of him. Turning to Jim, he looked like he wanted to say something but the words wouldn't come out. Gil just stared at Jim as if he was waiting for some sort of explanation, but Jim said nothing. It wasn't his place to tell. Sara would have to do that in her own time. However, there was one thing he could tell Gil.

"She's fine. I've got her and she's safe."

"But……."

"She's fine and she's safe. That's all I'm willing to say on the matter, save for that its essential that she have the time off."

Not happy, but at the same time knowing that Jim was a man of his word, Grissom got up and went to leave when Jim caught him at the front door.

"Just tell the guys she's on hiatus or something. Say nothing of the pictures. Get me?"

"I get you. Just let her know that I miss her."

Realizing his slip, Grissom quickly corrected himself.

"We miss her."

Watching as Gil climbed back into his truck, Jim simply waved him off and when he was down the street and out of sight he went back inside and called out.

"It's all good."

Slowly, the guest room door opened and Sara came out.

"Oh, God, Jim. What am I going to do?"


	4. Chapter 4

It had been a week since Jim had found Sara in her apartment those few days after her attack. She was looking much better; the majority of her bruises were virtually non-existent; even the ones on her face. The gash above her eye was healing nicely and Sara had removed the sutures. She was now applying massive doses of Neosporin to the area and even though you could clearly tell that something had happened, it looked more like she'd walked into a door than anything else. Her mental state was improving as well. She was still having the nightmares, but as she and Jim had begun to share the same bed, he was right there to soothe her when she would wake screaming.

Since it was late fall and the weather cool, she could get away very well with long sleeves and pants, so as Jim woke in the afternoon of this day, Sara, who had been awake for quite some time, told him that she would be going into work with him that night. Though he didn't like the idea, he had learned early on not to argue with her…..just let her do her thing. When it came time for work, Jim dropped Sara off at the lab and watched as she walked through the double doors and disappeared out of sight. He didn't think she was ready to return to work by any means, but it was just easier to agree with her than it was to fight her, and Jim didn't want to fight her, he wanted to help heal her. If this early return to work was to be part of the healing process then far be it from him to dispute her tenacity.

Walking through the halls of CSI and passing the receptionist's desk, she picked up her many messages and carried on to the locker room where she sat on the bench in front of her locker and just sort stared at it. In her mind she was asking herself if she should have come back so soon, but at the same time she was going stir crazy at Jim's place, which is not to say that she wasn't grateful for the brief holiday and getting to know him better, but if she'd spent one day more at his house watching the History channel or Discovery she'd have gone nuts and most likely have taken it out on him which would have been totally uncalled for. She was thankful, though she wouldn't admit readily, for Jim's care and comfort that past week. What sort of man would give up his free time and then some, take care of an injured colleague, put them up at his place and deal with nightmares, panic attacks and other post traumatic business. Jim was truly an honourable and noble man and she wondered what she'd done in life to deserve such a person in her life. She was never really all that nice to him…..indifferent would be a more accurate descriptor. But now she'd seen him in an all new light. She was beginning to see him for the man he was; gracious, understanding, merciful and most importantly he was there for her, which is more than some others had done.

"I've tried it. It won't open."

Whipping around, she saw Greg in the doorway, smiling as usual. He approached her and sat beside her on the bench.

"Tried what?" she asked

"Mental telepathy; it won't open a locker." He said jokingly

"Oh." She said simply

"I'm glad to have you back, Sar." He said, cautiously placing his open hand on her back and rubbing absentmindedly

Her back still a bit bruised and sore, Sara winced at the light touch but didn't withdraw. She was glad for the sentiment and she'd always like Greg, but not in THAT way. To her, he was more like a younger brother and she loved him as such. They were still seated when Nick and Warrick came in for shift. Seeing she and Greg seated on the bench, they greeted her return and there were hugs all around, that is until Grissom showed up. He was passing by and had heard the voices, so he went in to see what was up. Seeing her and having her every feature memorized, he immediately noticed the wound above her eye, which no one else, out of courtesy, had mentioned. He said nothing of it and just gave an awkward sort of smile.

"Its good to have you back, Sara." He said flatly

He turned on his heel and continued down the hall to his office and his books, bugs and stacks of case files that had yet to be sorted properly. Having seen the pictures of Sara's bruises the previous week, he was both disturbed and relieved; disturbed because of what happened and relieved that she was back, though he'd never say it properly, with emotion. He'd just sit in his office and let his imagination run wild with thoughts of what had happened to his Sara. HIS Sara. How could he think that? She wasn't his, well, not in the sense of relationship, but she was his as a valued team member, so that's how he'd force himself to think of her because he'd never have the balls to ask her out or initiate any sort of contact out of work. He had feelings for her, that he could not deny, but he just didn't believe it would be viable to start something out of work. He remembered how jealous he was when he knew that she was at Jim's, but that she wouldn't see him. He kind of got the feeling that Jim was hiding her from him. He remembered the jealousy he felt whenever he'd think of what she and Brass would be doing at any given moment in the day that past week. Were they cuddled up on the couch watching a film? Was she watching him cook a meal? Were they sleeping together? It was this last thought that drove him nearly insane with jealousy.

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Shift was over and as Jim and Sara rode back to his place, Sara, who had been staring blankly out the passenger window suddenly straightened up and gasped. Concerned, Jim asked after the matter.

"What's the matter, Hun?"

"That's him, the guy that attacked me. He's on the corner back there. He's got no hoodie, but I recognize that face anywhere."

Jim pulled to the side of the road at a screeching halt and exited the car, approaching the man who was, at present, crossing the street. Looking up and down the street, the man caught Jim out of the corner of his eye and saw the badge in the outer breast pocket of his suit coat and booked it out of there. Not wanting to leave Sara unattended for too long, Jim returned to the car and once seated he turned to her.

"Can you give a composite?" he asked

After a few moment's hesitation she said that she could. So, turning round', they headed back to the lab and thank God that Nick was still there and they didn't have to deal with day shift personnel. He was at his locker when Jim and Sara found him.

"Nicky, I need a favour." Jim said

"Sure thing, Brass. What?"

"I need you to do a composite for us. Sara saw the guy that attacked her and we need to know what he looks like so we can get the bastard."

"Well, day shift is in now, and the equipment is theirs, but if you two come in early tonight I'll do it then. Are you sure it was him?" he asked Sara

"With my eyes closed." She replied

"Good, but you might want to take a look at these and see if he's here, first."

Walking down the hall and entering the DNA lab, Nick grabbed several folders that were filled with photos of sex offenders. Taking them from Nick, Jim thanked him and he and Sara left the lab.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Sitting in his office and seeing Jim and Sara leaving hand in hand, Grissom's blood began to boil again.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Seated on the couch with the folders in front of them, Jim turned to Sara and took a deep breath.

"So, tell me what this guy looks like so I can help."

Without hesitation, Sra gave the best description she could.

"He's about 6ft, close cropped dark hair, goatee, meek facial features with a very pointed nose and piercing blue eyes. He's also got a tattoo on his left hand of a date. That's all I can give you, but I'll know him when I see him. They sat there for several hours, going through the folders when Sara let out a loud sort of "Eeep!" Leaning over, Jim saw what had her so distressed. He took the folder from her and looked at the picture. The guy's name was Randall Emerich. He had a long history of assaults, theft, fraud and general dastardliness. His current whereabouts were unknown, but at least now they knew who assaulted her and that was one step closer to catching the guy.


	5. Chapter 5

"At the time I was shaken up a bit, but not so much so that I lost my head. Here, these are for you." Sara said, handing a grocery sized paper bag to Jim

Looking inside it, he saw several bindles, small zip lock bags, clothing and another, larger zip lock bag with collection implements. He looked from the bag to Sara and he was momentarily dumbstruck. He couldn't think of why she hadn't turned this in earlier or to someone at the lab. Why did she wait until she saw the guy again and they had identified him? There were so many questions he wanted to ask, but instead he stood up, grabbed his car keys, shouted over his shoulder that he'd be back soon and walked out the front door, leaving Sara to try and rationalize her actions or inactions, as the case may be.

In her mind she was detached from what had happened to her. She knew that she had been raped, she wasn't in denial about that, but as to why she held onto the evidence for so long…….she had tried to put it out of her mind. Kind of the "Ostrich Effect" as in "I can't see you, you can't see me"; if I put it out of my mind, out of sight, out of mind. But when she saw the guy in the car and then again in the folder her attitude changed from "Agh, no big deal." To one of "I wanna cut his balls off and feed them to him with chopsticks." Still, she had hindered any possible investigation by not only holding but withholding key evidence. Jim had never asked any questions about the incident as he figured she'd come to him when she was ready. Now that he had the evidence an official investigation could be conducted, however late in the game it was……………the lab had done far more with far less, so there was no doubt that between the evidence she'd collected off herself and the ID in the folder they'd find the guy and Sara had an odd sort of feeling that it would be Jim that would find him and she feared that. Her fear wasn't for Jim, he could most certainly hold his own any time. Her fear, oddly enough, was for the other guy and what Jim would do when he got his hands on him……Lord, help the bastard.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

By the time Jim got to the lab Grissom was still there doing his belated case overviews. Seeing him, he immediately walked in with no notice and dropped the bag on the desk, right atop an open folder. Removing his glasses, Grissom looked up at Jim and gave an odd sort of look.

"What's this?" he asked

"This is the evidence that Sara collected off of herself right after the attack."

"Why are we getting this now?" Grissom snapped

"Because she only just now gave it to me. She also identified her attacker. He's got a record. I'm going to head to the precinct and see if I can't dig up the rock that this guy lives under." Jim explained

Without another word he turned on his heel and left Grissom's office, heading down the hall towards the double doors of the entrance. He had just opened the door when he got the urge to call home and see if everything was well. He pulled out his cell and dialed home. The phone did not ring, the line was busy. Jim thought this an odd sort of thing given Sara's current state. He thought the last thing she'd be doing would be chatting on the phone. This worried him immensely as he walked more briskly to his car and floored it out of the lot. Normally the drive from the lab to home would be about fifteen-twenty minutes, max. This time Jim did it in ten. As he pulled into his drive he could see the front door was opened a crack and as he walked the walkway to his front porch, he drew his weapon and with the toe of his shoe, nudged the door open to see horror. The place was a mess. The couch overturned, his college ice hockey stick broken in two, the mirror by the front door smashed into a thousand pieces and blood……..blood all over the place. Calling out to Sara, he got no response, so he flipped his cell and called the lab and the police.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

There were cops and CSIs everywhere and to be honest, Jim didn't like it one bit. Sara had gone missing and now his house was a crime scene. Standing by as Grissom et al came and went through his home, Jim's knuckles turned white with rage and frustration. If it was the same guy that had attacked her the first time, how did he find her this time? Jim's home phone number was unlisted as was his address, so again, how did this guy find her? He thought that by bringing her to his place he could keep her safe, but he was obviously wrong in that assumption. All he had to do was one thing and he couldn't even do that; he felt impotent, useless. As a man, he should be able to protect his home and his loved ones and now that he had been shown his vulnerability he was more determined than before to catch this guy and string him up by his short and curlies.

He was, however, glad that it was the night shift that was tromping through his place than the day shift. He'd always associate Conrad Ecklie with the day shift even though he was no longer head of it, but just saying the name gave Jim the creeps, but at the same time there was one bit to Conrad Ecklie that made him laugh inside, and that was the fact that every time you looked at Ecklie he looked cross-eyed. Ecklie aside, Jim watched as Greg, Warrick and Nick carried evidence bag after evidence bag out of the house and load them into the boot of their truck. Warrick and Greg walking ahead of him, Nick stopped to give Brass a few words.

"Don't worry, man. We'll find them. We'll find them and when we do, I'll have first crack at him."

"No, I get first crack. He invaded my home, kidnapped my friend and broke a bunch of my shit in the process. He's mine and Lord, help him if I get to him before anyone else." Jim growled

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Sitting in a dank, dark room that smelled heavily of mildew and various molds, Sara sat, her hands and legs bound as well as her eyes covered. She could hear water running and curses shouted by the same voice that she had heard that night she was attacked. She figured he was tending to his wounds; wounds inflicted by her. He had been crafty, though. He'd shown up at Jim's as a courier and when she'd opened the door to sign for the package he held, he had forced the door open, and seeing his eyes, she ran right for the kitchen and grabbed the first thing she could get her hands on; a knife steel. That was only good for the first blow that she delivered to the side of his head. While he was momentarily disoriented, she grabbed a large knife form the block on the kitchen counter and struck at him. She got him on the upper arm, the left lower abdomen and the right leg, just shy of the femoral artery. For herself, she'd been given another blow to the face and losing her balance, she stumbled and hit her head on the mantle above the fireplace.

That was the last thing she remembered.


	6. Chapter 6

She could hear footsteps approaching and a door opening, immediately followed by steps on a flight of stairs. From this, she surmised that she was in a basement and as such she would be nearly impossible to hear if she were to shout out. She'd explored as best she could given her confinement. She was bound but not anchored. Her back to the wall, she hopped along and felt whatever she could. It was a good sized room and though she could not see it, she gave a whistle and waited for the echo, which came very soon after. There were exposed pipes on the ceiling and two hatch hinged windows on opposite ends of the room, these she could see from the gap in her blindfold. Early on she felt the floor for texture and found it to be concrete and cold. She'd felt around and had picked up what felt like a paper clip or some sort of thin nail or brad. She'd tucked it into her front jeans pocket because she knew it was only a matter of time before her attacker would come and check on her. So, she'd wait until after that to get a better feeling for what she'd found.

The footsteps stopped short and she listened as he spoke.

"No one is ever truly safe. Your boyfriend thought he could offer you safe harbour, but NO! That was a mistake to send him after me. So, get used to this place, cause' you're gonna die here. Maybe I'll cut you like you did me and let you slowly bleed to death or maybe I'll just let you starve to death. Either way, you'll never see him again."

Sara said nothing in response, but just listened to his voice and memorized his speech patterns. He had a slight lisp and his voice was rather high pitched for a full grown man. She could hear him turn round' and walk back up the stairs. She could hear the door close and lock and then the tellie went on. Her hands behind her back, she rolled to her side and tucked her knees to her chin, bringing her hands down and past them. Now she was in a better position as she could feel in front of her. First, she worked on the bonds around her ankles and when she'd got those undone, she removed her blindfold so she could see properly. Yup, she was in a basement, and looking around, she could see all sorts of things she could use to unbind her hands. On a workbench of sorts, she found a single blade from a coping saw. Setting it on the floor and bending it upwards, she began to cut through her bonds. It took some time, as she was tied with climbing rope, but when she'd freed herself, she made for the window closest to her.

Hopping up on the workbench, she opened it, but only as far as it would go, which was an awkward six inches at the top. She'd have to break the glass and thank God it wasn't reinforced. It was just one pane of glass.

The tellie got louder and she could here that it was a basketball game, so she waited for a score to bust the glass with her bare elbow. Surprisingly, there wasn't much noise, so as she removed the pieces still in the frame, she slid out and stood up to get her bearings. She looked fine, which is to say that she was fully clothed; boots and all, so she wouldn't draw too much attention to herself if she were to be seen. She was on a dirt road but she could hear a highway of some sort; large trucks, high engine RPMs and other signs of civilization. She followed the sounds and after about half an hour she found herself on the shoulder of I-15 and even though hitch hiking was illegal, hopefully she'd get picked up by some cop or state trooper and that would be gold.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Sitting at his desk, Jim went over the papers on Randall Emerich, looking for some clue, something that might clue him in to his whereabouts. He had moved around quite a bit and there were at least half a dozen addresses for him; places he'd been picked up. Jim was growing increasingly furious at the state of things and to relax, he closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair. Trying to clear his mind, he was bombarded by images of Sara in the custody of this animal.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

At the lab, Grissom was spearheading the processing of the evidence that he'd been given while Greg, Nick and Warrick continued to process the house. Gil put his feelings for Sara aside so he could focus on the task at hand. Sara had been very thorough when she'd processed herself. There were several swabs that had been labeled, her clothing, all of it, was neatly folded and bagged as were the scrapings from under her nails. He was so proud of her ability to keep her head given what had just happened to her that day. He was still upset that she had held onto the evidence for as long as she did, but that was in the past, now. Now was the time to keep his head and do his job, which was to build and make a case against this nut and lock him up for good.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Heading back into town, Sara was getting increasingly tired from walking so far. She had just passed a sign that read "Las Vegas 15mi"

"Shit, 15 miles." She said aloud

But she kept walking until a kindly passerby stopped and picked her up. Sliding into the passenger seat, Sara took a long sigh of relief.

"Where to?" asked the driver

"Vegas. Anywhere on Trop." She replied

She wanted to say the lab, but thought it wise not to. She wasn't quite sure why, but she kept that bit of info to herself. Within the half hour she was back in Vegas and walked to the nearest pay phone.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Sitting at his desk, pouring over the file of Randall Emerich, Jim jumped when his cell went off. It was an unfamiliar number but he answered it anyway. Much to his surprise and glee, it was Sara. She gave her location and the location of where she'd been held so a warrant could be issued. He jumped up and flew out of his office, calling Gil in the process, who grabbed Catherine and went to follow Jim after he picked up Sara.

Seeing her standing on the corner, Jim pulled over and picked Sara up. He was so glad to see her that he virtually jumped her and hugged her tightly to him. After a semi-awkward, long embrace, Jim radioed that they were headed out to the house off of 15. Gil came back that he and Catherine were right behind them with a warrant that had been faxed, followed by several police cars.

Lights and sirens going, the caravan of cars flew down I-15 and when Sara pointed to the dirt road, Jim hit the breaks, hooked a left and turned off his lights and went silent as did everyone else. The road was well worn with deep ruts and bits and pieces of trash and whatnot all over. Jim and Sara made it through ok, but as Gil and Catherine made their turn and wound up with a flat tire, in effect stopping everyone but Jim and Sara.

Seeing the house in the distance, Jim pulled off about fifty yards from the property and directed Sara to stay in the car, which she did, reluctantly. Stealthily, Jim made a wide entrance and came up to the house from behind and circling round' to the front. He stepped up on the porch and, looking through one of the front windows, saw the guy in a lounger with the tellie on. He wasn't moving, it didn't even look like he was breathing.

"Maybe dude is asleep." Jim thought to himself

He crept around the porch to get a general layout of the place before entering the house. After a full external sweep, Jim saw no one, no cars behind him, so he kicked in the front door and that sure as hell woke the bastard up, as he fell from his chair and scrambled to get away. Jim did not run, he didn't even pick up his pace. He just followed Randall slowly, all the while baiting him.

"Run all you like. I may be old, but I'm fast……..you come into my home, attack and kidnap one of my friends, break my shit and wreck the place. So, as I said, run all you like. You're mine."

Randall was cornered in the kitchen by a deadbolt that required a key to be opened and as Jim stood in the doorway, leaning against the jamb, looking at the man, he could see the wounds that Sara had inflicted upon him. Inside he was smiling as wide as he ever had, but on the outside his face was red, his knuckles white and his vision tunneled, focused on the guy. Looking around, Randall saw a knife on the kitchen counter and went to reach for it. Grasping the handle tightly, he took a stab at Jim who quickly drew his weapon and fired at Randall, hitting him in the shoulder and sending him flying back into the wall. He got up and tried again, but Jim blocked him and pistol whipped him, watching as he hit the floor, out like a light. He grabbed his cuffs and secured him and dragged him out front to the front porch.

Moments later Grissom and Catherine arrived along with the patrol cars and officers. Seeing the state of the perp, Grissom just sort of looked at Jim and raised a brow. Looking down at Randall, Jim smiled.

"Sara carved him up and I just served him."

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

The End?


	7. Chapter 7

Sitting in his office, Grissom poured over the notes and some pieces of evidence form Sara's assault. There was a problem, and he knew it'd come up, but he tried not to think about it; chain of custody. Sara had held onto the evidence for too long, now making it nearly impossible to build a case against the man they had in custody. Racking his brain, trying to think of a way to make it work, he had an epiphany; traffic cameras. They were everywhere and odds were, that if she were in the right or wrong place, depending on how you looked at it, the attack might have been caught on tape. Jumping up, he ran to Nick, who was in the A/V lab and asked after the cameras.

"There are cameras everywhere in Vegas. It's just a matter of where she was attacked and if the camera caught it. It doesn't help things that she waited a week and a half, but we might get lucky." He explained

"Well, I'll get a hold of Sara and find out where she was when it happened." He said, pulling his cell from his pocket

Walking down the hall, Grissom dialed her cell and when he got no answer he tried Jim's home line which rang three times before she picked it up.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

"Brass residence, Sara speaking. Oh, hi, Grissom. Yeah, the alley between Carson and Freemont street. Really! That would blow a hole in the chain of custody issue, supposing there actually is one there. Yeah, I'll be in. Ok, bye."

Wondering why Grissom would want to know where she was attacked, Sara just scratched her head a couple of times and let the subject rest. She climbed into the shower and let the spray cascade off her bruised back and front and when she was done, Jim had just come home from the market with groceries. Setting them down on the kitchen counter, he went into the guestroom to find Sara dressing, wearing a pair of his sweats and one of his cast-off shirts from the previous nights. Jim thought she looked sexy in his cast offs, but would never tell her. He was there with her to comfort and protect her and not to hit on her or make any sort of sexual advances. However, if she made the move, a topic he'd been thinking about a lot as of late, he couldn't honestly say what he'd do. He might decline, saying that it was too soon and the conditions were not optimal, or he might just throw caution to the wind and accept her advances……..he just wasn't sure. But seeing her there, in front of him dressed as she was, he was very turned on. A bit spaced out, he was brought back to reality by her voice.

"Brass?...Jim!."

"Huh?"

"I said Grissom called asking about the location of the attack. I think he's cooking something up." She said

"Speaking of cooking, how does eggplant parmesan sound? I've got some veggies we can steam, too."

"Sounds delicious. I had no idea you were a cook."

"There's a lot you don't know about me yet."

"Apparently so."

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Back at the lab, Grissom and Nick had been working overtime in the A/V lab looking at feed from the traffic cameras from the night of the attack and by sure luck, the footage from that night had still been accessible. Sitting and watching in horror, Nick and Grissom watched as Sara walked down the street, was pulled into the alley and attacked. The footage was great, as it enabled them to zoom in and pan around in accordance with the movements of she and her attacker. They saw that she got in a few good blows before she was knocked out and subsequently raped and further attacked. Then, after about ten minutes of watching, astonished, they watched her attacker get up and turn to leave, at which point Sara, most likely summoning up all her fight, kicked him in the balls from behind, sending him to the ground in a foetal position, allowing her to escape and walk the several blocks to her apartment. From the cameras, they could follow her all the way home and as they watched her climb the stairs to her apartment, she disappeared and no one had seen or heard from her until Jim came by three days later with his key.

They were also, from the cameras, able to see footage of the kidnapping from Jim's house, as he lived near the corner of a very busy intersection. The perp had pulled up in a brown box truck with no outer markings. He stepped out with a box in his hand and walked up the walkway to Jim's house. He was seen to be gesturing with his hands and then he entered the house. Several minutes of inactivity and he emerged with Sara at gunpoint. From there they followed the truck to I-15 and that's where they lost it.

Jumping up from his seat, Grissom shouted so loud that he could be heard all through the lab.

"We got em'!"

Hearing the glorious shout, Greg and Warrick came running from the locker room, slightly confused. Seeing Grissom's own twisted version of some sort of victory dance during which, he shook his fists, shook his ass and added a couple of good pelvic thrusts for good measure. This was most uncharacteristically Grissom, so they laughed a bit before asking what was up.

"We got the attack and the kidnapping. We've got it all on tape from the traffic cameras." He said, joyously

"That would negate the "chain of custody" issue. Are the images clear? Can it be disputed that its not Sara, but someone else?" Greg asked

"No disputing it. Through zoom, we could even see the tattoo on the back of the guy's neck. Its Sara, alright." He explained

"Good, so we've got the evidence in form of clothing, scrapings and such and we've also got the video feed from the cameras. This guy doesn't stand a chance. Where is he, by the way?" Warrick asked

"He's been arraigned and is currently being held without bond in the Nevada State Correctional Institution. He's not going anywhere any time soon." Grissom said confidently

Just hen Jim and Sara came strolling into the lab and seeing and hearing the commotion in the A/V lab, they went toward it, listening as Grissom spouted on about how the guy was gonna pay and how if left alone in a room with he'd choke the living………well, you get it.

"What's up? What's this?" Jim asked

"We've got him. We've got him on tape from the attack and for the kidnapping. He's toast." Greg explained

"Don't put all your hair care products in one basket, Greg. Something always goes wrong when you think you can't lose." Jim said wisely


	8. Chapter 8

"I've seen the way he looks at you, Sara. He likes you, and not just as a friend. As much as this hurts for me to say, I think you two would be good for each other. He needs someone to show him life and how to live it and you need someone that is going to accept you for who you are and never ask you to change, which he wouldn't." Greg explained

"I had a feeling, but wasn't sure. But being with him these past few weeks and having his support through the trial and sentencing really kind of showed me how much he cares. I need to do something to show him how grateful I am for his patience and understanding. What would you do?" she replied

"Like I said, this hurts a lot to say because I like you al so much, but you might want to cook him dinner or something along those lines. Or take him out and go for a walk, during which time you can have a heart to heart and see what's going on on his end. But me watching the two of you and the way he interacts with you and you in return, I'd say it's a sure bet he likes you. You just have to figure out what you're gonna do. The ball is in your court, Sara. How are you going to play it?"

Sara sat and thought about Greg's words very carefully. She knew he liked her, but in her mind they could never be more than friends; he just wasn't her speed. She wanted to find a good man, settle down, maybe have a couple of kids and grow old with someone. Since Grissom was not a candidate in any way, shape or form, she'd started looking elsewhere, but didn't realize that a very real and true possibility stood before her nearly every day of the week. Not only that, but she'd been living with him for the better part of three weeks. He was attentive, supportive, brilliant, humble and most important of all of Jim's defining characteristics, he was a gentleman.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

In his office at the precinct, Jim was thinking about the trial and how it had gone as well as it possibly could have. Between the evidence, which the opposition had tried to throw out, and the feed from the cameras, their ace in the hole, the guy, Randall Emerich got fifteen to twenty-five years, not eligible for parole for three years. Jim's joy could not be expressed in words, so as he pulled out his cell, he dialed a number he'd not dialed since Sara's birthday earlier that year.

"Yes, this is Captain Brass of the Las Vegas Police Department. I'd like to send some roses to the following address. Red, of course. I'd like some Baby's Breath with those as well. Yeah, here's my card number……………"

The last week had been especially hard on Jim, as Sara was still at his place (that wasn't the problem) and he found himself more and more, thinking thoughts he wasn't sure he should be having. True, they were still sharing a bed due to her persistent nightmares. Their sleep routine had gone from them sleeping back to back on opposite ends of the bed to spooning to now, either he or she with their head on the other's chest. They'd not done anything yet, save for the small peck of a kiss every now and then, which was usually planted on top of the other's head. For Jim, this was very fulfilling. He'd never imagined that so many of his feelings for Sara could be sated just by sharing the same bed and comforting her. Though the carnal side of him was growing increasingly hungry, he kept it in check as best he could. Sometimes he'd watch something on the tellie that was about as far from sex as one could get, like "Mission to Mars" or NOVA or Cosmos re-runs with Carl Sagan. Sometimes he'd cook or just go for a walk, but these activities were no longer working as well as they had in the beginning. He'd have to come clean with her at some point, and in his mind, the sooner the better, but how to do it?

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

This was the first time Sara had been back to her apartment since Jim had found her all those weeks ago and truth be told, it felt a little creepy. Walking through the small one bedroom place, she was constantly reminded of the attack. After the scene had been released and was no longer protected by the police tape, Nick and Greg had come over to clean up a bit. That was, they cleaned up the dried blood, did the wash and generally tidied up the place. They'd done a very good job of it, too. The place was spotless and there was nothing about to suggest that anything had gone wrong. Of course not, as the attack didn't take place there, but downtown, but there were no longer clothes strewn about, the magazines on the coffee table were in order, the bed made and her plants had been tended to.

Jim had been by to pick up to pick up some clothing during the past week and not knowing what all she liked to wear in her free time, so knee deep in her casual clothes, he just grabbed some underthings and personal hygiene products. After that, he'd gone to the mall and just bought a few pairs of jeans, some long sleeved shirts and other things to go along with what he'd taken from her place.

Returning home from the market, Jim found her ready and raring to go. She was a workhorse, no doubt; having returned to work only one week after the attack and going full steam at every case she'd been given, so they left for work.

It was almost as though she'd been given a new life and she was going to live it to the fullest. She no longer stayed too late or came in on her days off. She was living her new life to the fullest and her discussion with Greg had given her an idea. She knew Jim had a certain passion for the outdoors and with some careful snooping, she found that he had a whole lot of vacation time saved up, as did she. So, during her lunch break, she pulled out an issue of Outdoor Life and made some calls, making reservations for a nice cabin in the woods not too far from Vegas. It was during this call that Nick came up behind her, tapping her on the shoulder. Whipping round', she saw the roses.

"Roses for the sweet, my sweet." He said, smiling

Taking them, she pulled the card and read it.

"What my words can't say, horticulture can. Very Fondly, Jim."

Sara blushed at the card and slipped it into her pocket, leaning in to smell the roses. They were beautiful. She wasn't a big fan of roses, but these were absolutely beautiful and for Jim to send them to the lab, to her, it seemed he was making a statement of some sort, almost as if to say that he didn't care who knew about how he felt. This was definitely a big step.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

At his desk, Jim was checking his mail when he saw one from Sara. Smiling, he opened it.

"Jim, I know you've got vacation time, so if you could take about a week or so, two weeks from now, I've got something planned. I've got my time off, so if you could get yours, I promise our week together will be one neither one of will soon forget. Sara. Oh, and I know you know I'm a vegetarian, but for you, I'll make a beef roast, rice and steamed veggies for breakfast."

The message brought a smile to his face and as he opened his middle desk drawer he pulled out a small stack of photos that had been taken over the years; photos of he and she. There was one from a crime scene that had been taken by Nick, and just out of happenstance Jim was helping Sara to stand from a crouching position. Another was one of she and him eating in the break room, and some others. However, his favourite was one of she and him standing in the vehicle bay, his hand on her shoulder and she leaning in to hug him after getting some very good news. There was also the one that he had taken a week or so back, when her bruises had finally faded and she was asleep in his bed. When she slept, which she didn't do often, he thought she looked Angelic. Over the past few weeks he'd found himself in bed with her, his head propped up by his elbow and resting on his hand, just watching her sleep. God, she was beautiful.

Going through his desk, he found a vacation requisition form and filled it out as per Sara's directions and submitted it to the proper authorities. Hi mind swam with possibilities, but at the same time he was a bit apprehensive about the trip. What, other than the cabin, had she got planned? Would he be able to control himself if it was just to be a holiday between two friends? He didn't know. But what he did know was that during said trip they'd have a serious discussion about his newly realized feelings for her, her possible feelings for him and how, if at all, they should handle them.

There was a knock at his closed office door and as he shoved the photos back in his desk, he called for entry. The door opened and it was Grissom come to give Jim an update as to the Randall Emerich situation. Seating himself across from Jim and taking a long, deep breath, he spilled.

"Apparently Randall's cellmate got a little tired of him, his crimes and his mouth, so around 04:00hrs his cellmate shanked him, then beat him with a lock in a sock. He's in pretty bad shape." He explained

"Good. Guys like him always get their comeuppance." Jim said flatly

Shifting nervously in his seat, Grissom continued.

"The thing is, he's asking to see Sara. I just thought you should know."


	9. Chapter 9

"Absolutely not. He nearly kills her, then kidnaps her and now he wants to see her? No friggin' way." Jim said in a high pitched growl

"Thing is, he claims there were other victims, but he'll only tell her where they are." Gil said solemnly

"So, not only is he a sexual offender but he's also a murderer? No way in hell is she going anywhere near that freak again." Jim asserted

"He's in bad shape and the doctors don't know how long he's got. Between the injuries inflicted by Sara, some of which have become infected and those by his cellmate, the prognosis is not good for him. If her seeing him one last time means that we get closure for the families of the other victims, I think she should do it." Grissom said sternly

"Well, let's tell Sara and see what she thinks, though I wouldn't be surprised if she tells us to go to hell."

"I'll tell her. No offense, but I've got better people skills than you. Just give me some time to figure out how I want to put it to her, organize my thoughts and stuff." Jim said

Getting up and leaving Grissom to think about their conversation, Jim walked down the corridor to find Sara in the break room reading an issue of Guns&Ammo: The Ultimate Military Issue. A bit surprised at her choice of literature, Jim sat beside her and turning to face her, closed the magazine and took her hand in his, rubbing the back of it with his thumb. Looking at their hands joined, Sara got a not so good feeling. Looking up and seeing his eyes, she knew something was wrong.

"What's wrong, Jim?"

As of late, given the advancement in their relationship, she'd begun to call him Jim rather than the impersonal "Brass". Swallowing hard, he sighed, then spoke.

"Let's go for a walk, shall we?"

Getting up from the couch, their hands still joined, they walked out the front doors of the lab and started down the street on the pavement walkway. It was a few moments before Jim finally began to speak of Randall and when he did he felt Sara's grip on his hand tighten greatly. About a block away, by the side of the walkway, there was a mound of grass upon which they sat. Turning to her, her hand still in his, he began.

"As I was saying, Randal is in hospital. His cellmate attacked him and he's in pretty bad shape."

"Good, he deserves it." She snapped

"Well, there's a bit of a problem. It would seem as though there are more people that had suffered at his hands." He continued

"You say "had". Does that mean they're dead?"

"That's exactly what it means. But he says he'll only tell you where they're buried. I know the last thing you want is to see him, but we've got to think of the greater good, here. We've got to give their families closure, and I think that by you seeing him, they might be given that." He explained

The look on her face was a combination of disgust, nausea and anger. Her face was red, her knuckles white, gripping Jim's hand, and all of a sudden she got quiet. They sat like that, on the mound, for a few moments before she responded.

"So, if I see him he'll tell me where everybody is?" she asked softly

"That's what he said. I'll go with you if you like; you know, for moral support."

Standing up and pulling him up with her, Sara, with her free hand, ran her fingers through her hair, sighed and looked over at him.

"Well, let's get this over with, then." She said flatly

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

In hospital, Jim and Sara walked the hallway to the secure ward and showing their ID badges, were granted entry. Walking past room after room, they could see inmates restrained to their beds, some alone and some with doctors and nurses. At the end of the hall they found Randall hooked up to several machines; a pulse-ox monitor, an electrocardiogram machine as well as an IV drip that had just been flushed with ten milligrams of morphine, for the pain. Stepping inside the room, Jim and Sara could see that Randall was in really bad shape and as Sara approached the bed, Randall turned his head and offered a sloppy, drug induced smile.

Sara didn't want to be there in the first place, but seeing this poor pathetic man laying, possibly dying, made her even more furious than she had initially been. Not being one to mince words or waste time, she got down to brass tax.

"So, I'm here. Talk." She growled

Still dazed from the meds, Randall did his best to form coherent sentences. It was rough, as he'd been given Adavan, Morphine and a healthy dose of Valium. His mouth dry, as if full of cotton, he licked his dry lips and tried to focus on the Saras that stood before him. There were three of them, so he directed his gaze to the one in the middle.

"You came, good." He said, his speech slurred

"I'm not here to chit chat with you. Tell me where they are and we can both move on with our lives." She snapped

"Your life will go on far longer than mine, I'm afraid. You're a bright one, but remember, the light that burns twice as bright burns half as long."

"We're through with the niceties. Now, where are they?"

"I'll tell you one, you go find her then come back and I'll tell you another." He hissed

"I'm not going to play games with you. You tell me where they all are or I'm leaving right now."

"What would their families say, knowing that you had the opportunity to find their loved ones and didn't do a damned thing about it?" he asked, baiting her

Turning to Jim, who was right behind her, she saw that he was entering full attack mode. His hands were fisted and his knuckles white with fury. His face and ears were red as the blood of Randall's that she had spilled and his jugular vein was bulging. He had that intense look in his eyes that said "Quit fcking with me." and he was about to take a step closer to Randall as Sara placed her hand on his chest, halting him, and whispered to him.

"He's not worth it, Jim. I'll play his game and when I'm done, life will go on. It will go on for me, it will go on for you and it will go on for him, for however short a time he still has, which hopefully won't be too long."

Realizing the truth in what Sara had said, Jim backed off and stood behind her in a protective posture, his arms crossed across his chest, his gaze narrowed at Randall as he cracked his knuckles one by one, the right hand first and then the left. After that he cracked his neck and back, making as much noise as possible to deliver Randall his message. Smiling inwardly, Sara knew that Jim's patience was wearing thin, as was hers, so one last time she asked, and to this, Randall answered simply.

"Go to the property off of I-15 and one hundred yards out from the back stoop is a pile of old refuse, chairs, pieces of metal and such. You go there and find her, bring me back her locket and I'll tell you where number two is."

Turning on her heel followed by Jim, Sara left the ward and climbed behind the wheel of Jim's car and floored it back to the lab where she and Jim collected Nick and Greg.


	10. Chapter 10

Sifting through the debris of Randall's backyard junk pile, it was several hours before they found the body in question. From the looks of things she'd been there for quite some time. She was partially decomposed and it looked as if some rats and other small carnivorous animals had had a go at her. Her fingertips and prints, however were nearly fully intact, which would make identification easier. David having released the scene and Sara having photographed the locket around the girl's neck and placed it in a small zip-lock type bag, she labeled it as evidence and slipped it into her pocket.

During the ride back to hospital, both she and Jim were still fuming at the audacity of this jackass and his power games. Even from what might possibly be his deathbed he was dictating terms and this, more than anything else, infuriated them. Both Jim and Sara had little patience for games and as they got closer and closer to the infirmary, their rage had a chance to boil and build so that by the time they reached Randall's bedside and they saw him asleep, Sara reached out, slapped him a few times until he woke. His eyes full of sleep and again with the cotton mouth, he raised an eyebrow and Sara pulled the bagged evidence from her pocket and showed it to him. For his part, Jim was still smiling from when Sara had slapped the bastard. They were good slaps, too. Not light ones to gently wake someone, but bitchslaps; three loud, skin on skin cracking slaps. Struggling to focus on the locket, Randall smiled again and through dry lips and throat asked for a cup of water. Jim went into the hall, found a food trolley, grabbed a cup, filled it with water and upon his return, he threw it in Randall's face.

"There's your water. Now where's number 2?" he demanded

Looking down at his wet gown, Randall looked up at Jim and just glared at him as Jim glared back. Looking from one man to the other, Sara smiled at Jim and turned to Randall.

"I've brought the locket, so where is number 2?" she shouted, but not so loud so as to be heard from outside the room

"Someone needs to teach your boyfriend, here, some manners." Randall hissed

"Oh, he's a gentleman, but not to arseholes like you. Now, where is she?"

After a few moments of a heated staring contest between the three of them, he finally spoke.

"Instead of turning on the dirt road, go down about a mile or so and there'll be a pea gravel drive. Turn there and for about half a mile you'll see nothing but desert until you see an old mining shack. 100 yards from the back of the shack you'll find four stones in a triangular pile. Bring me the watch and I'll give you number three."

Jim had been writing down the directions and when he was done he closed his notepad and returned it to his inner pocket of his suit jacket. Turning round', Sara looked at Jim and he nodded. They left Randall there in his wet gown and returned to the lot, where Jim drove them to their next destination.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

They found the shack all right, as did they the stones. Standing a good twenty feet from the pile of rocks, Jim pulled out his cell and called the lab and David, who had just returned from the first scene. Next, Sara called Grissom to let him know where they were and for him to send someone. Within half an hour Warrick and Nick showed up, shortly thereafter followed by David and his "Who's your Coroner?" mobile.

It took a good couple of hours to not only move the stones but dig the hole to find the second victim who was buried about five feet beneath the surface. Again, Sara removed the sought after item, bagged it, labeled it and she and Jim were off, back to the hospital.

When they arrived, Randall was not in his room. Talking to one of the nurses at the on call station, Sara learned that Randall had a series of irregular heartbeats in recent hours, since they'd been there and he was currently being given an MRI, which would hopefully tell them what was going on. He seemed fine when they'd been there earlier, but as they'd been gone for a few hours, anything could have happened. However, for some strange reason Sara felt a certain amount of pity for the bastard. As for Jim, he was thinking that Randall was getting just what he deserved, but why couldn't he wait until all the bodies had been recovered to get more ill?

Jim and Sara sat in chairs until they received word that Randall was back in his room. He was lightly sedated, but coherent. So as Jim and Sara entered his room, she, again, pulled the little bag from her pocket and showed it to him. He seemed to acknowledge their presence and that of the watch. Reaching over to his bedside table, he poured himself a cup of water and glared at Jim as he drank it. After a nice long gulp, Randall licked his lips and set the cup back on the bedside table. Turning to Sara, he smiled and continued to glare at Jim, who just smiled back at him, teeth showing and all. However, in his head, he had the feeling that this guy didn't have much time left, so they'd better get down to business.

Stepping in front of Sara, Jim finally spoke.

"Look, we've played your sick little game, now where is number three!" he demanded

Still smiling at Sara, Randall said nothing, so Jim stepped between them and grabbed the blood pressure cuff and wrapped it around Randall's injured, restrained arm, slowly squeezing the bulb until it became so tight that Randall began to wince.

"This can all stop when you tell us where they all are; its all up to you." Jim said, grinning

Squeezing a few more times, Jim was sure he had Randall's attention, so he stopped pumping it. Through struggled breathing, Randall told them the location of the last body.

"From the mining shack, you'll see a small patch of trees in the distance. 50 yards from the northernmost tree you'll see the disturbance. That's it. There are no more. Now, let up, man."

Not entirely satisfied, Jim squeezed a couple more times and Randall called out in his pain.

"No more, I swear."

Releasing the pressure and removing the cuff before the nurse could come round', Jim set the cuff back on the caddy and stood as if nothing had happened. The nurse came running in and seeing that everything was normal, she took some notes and left, leaving Jim and Sara alone with him.

"If we find out that you're lying to us, you'll have more to worry about than a tight blood pressure cuff." Sara warned

"Yeah, ok. Now you and your psycho boyfriend leave me alone so I can die in peace." He hissed

Knowing, in the back of their minds, that Randall was withholding something, Jim and Sara left to return to the mining shack, calling Grissom to let him know about the third grave. The cell signal was weak and just before she relayed the coordinates the line went dead. Looking at her cell and the "No Signal" message, she growled and slammed the phone shut, jamming it into her pocket. Looking over at Jim , she huffed.

"Damned cell company. There should be more towers out there. You'd think there would be, given the amount of traffic on the highway."

"Well, at least we've got the third one. Once we uncover her we'll pay him another visit. I know there's more to what he's telling us. I've got this feeling there's at least one more." Jim said gruffly

"Yeah, I get the same feeling. He looked too satisfied when we left." She said in agitated tones


	11. Chapter 11

Dr. Sal Dellacona's name and likeness used with his full cooperation and permission for this and further chapters and other stories, provided he's amenable to being a recurring character.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

It was truly a gruesome sight, this last body. It looked as though she'd only been there a few days or so and the grave was relatively shallow. Again, it looked as though small carnivores had had their way with her, her fingertips having been chewed and extremities severely damaged by teeth marks and such. However, her face, wrapped in a plastic grocery bag was in near perfect condition. Standing by as the victim was unearthed, Jim and Sara were thinking about Randall and what he might be withholding, in regards to other victims. They knew he wasn't telling everything, so as soon as the body was completely exposed and the head uncovered, Sara took some photos and tried to find some piece of whatever to bring back to Randall in hopes that he'd tell where the rest, if any, of the bodies were. Down on her hands and knees, she looked into the not so deep pit and found a ring on the corpse, so she took a picture of it, bagged it, labeled it and shoved it in her pocket. Looking up at Jim who was holding his hand out, she took it and came to her feet.

All during the ride back, while Jim was driving, Sara was examining the ring. There was script on the inside of the band and as she removed a pair of gloves from her kit, she turned the ring round' so she could get a better look at the writing. Her eyes widening, she gasped and turned to Jim who was jockeying through traffic like he was playing "Frogger".

"Jim, there's a dedication here."

Not taking his eyes from the road, he replied.

"What's it say?"

"Geraldine from Randall 19.31.04. He killed his wife?" she muttered

"Or fiancée, at the very least."

For the next few miles Jim was creatively thinking about how he might get Randall to talk this time. The blood pressure cuff thing worked well enough, but wanting to switch things up a bit and not be repetitive, he had an epiphany. Seeing Jim smile out of the corner of her eye, Sara asked.

"Whacha' got cookin'?"

"Ahh, that's for me to know and for you to find out. He'll talk this time. He'll be begging to confess." He said confidently

"What makes you so sure?"

"I've only done it one time before; back in Jersey. When I did, the guy told us everything from his rising sign to the colour of his jockey shorts…..very effective." He said, still smiling

"You're that certain, huh?"

"Absolutely."

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Walking down the corridor back to the secure ward, Jim and Sara flashed their badges again and as they approached Randall's room a man in medium blue scrubs exited, rubbing the back of his neck hard with his hand as if he were massaging out the stress of the day. He was of average height with a bit of a paunch, but hey, girth is good, right? He was a handsome man. Not considered hot by the general population, but the man had his good features. His shoulders were broad, his hands strong, but soft, he was in overall good shape and his face was one of trust. One look at this man and you knew he'd never intentionally lie to you. Sara noticed the lovely colour of his eyes and as Jim pulled out his badge, Sara memorized his face. He looked a bit like Jim; cousins, maybe. Standing at the counter of the on call station, he was writing in a chart when they finally came to stand beside him. Jim set his badge on the counter to gain the man's attention and when he turned his head, he smiled one of the most disarming smiles Sara had ever seen.

"I'm Jim Brass and this is my colleague, Sara Sidle. You're Randall Emerich's physician, then?"

"That's correct. I'm Dr. Sal Dellacona. How can I help you?" he said in even tones

"Emerich, how's he going?" Jim asked

Trying not to stare at the man, Sara just looked down at her shoes, a thoughtful look on her face.

"Well, he's got a cardiac arrhythmia, and his belly wound has become infected. Right now he's got a machine breathing for him, so he's in pretty bad shape. His previous wounds, the ones from the knife attack, I suppose, well he didn't take very good care of them. The one that just missed the femoral artery is kind of scary, but as I said, his belly wound is one of the things we're focusing on right now." The good doctor explained

"So he'll live, then?" Jim asked

"That's debatable. As I said, he's in pretty bad shape. The infection has spread to his kidney, so we might have to remove it if we can't get it under control. I hear this guy isn't one of God's greatest."

"That's one way to put it." Jim said "He assaulted my friend, here, among other crimes."

Jim was careful not to give too much information, but just enough to find out what he needed to know. Sara watched as the doctor went back to making his notes in Randall's chart. "He's a leftie" she thought to herself. As his hand flew across the pages she returned her attention to Jim who was currently staring at her, grinning.

"Well, what say you and I pay our friend a visit?"

"Yeah, sure." She said softly, almost absentmindedly

As they walked down the hall, Sara turned to get one last look at Dr. Dellacona, but only got a look at his butt which was shaking slightly as if he were humming some random tune to himself. She turned back to Jim who was smiling heavily.

"You were checking out his ass." He said teasingly

"I did no such thing." She said defensively

"You were too." He teased some more

Passing the last few rooms before reaching Randall's, Sara wondered what Jim had up his sleeve as far as his aforementioned interrogation tactics. The blood pressure cuff thing was a nice touch and if she wasn't mistaken, which she didn't believe she was, Jim got a certain amount of satisfaction out of making the man squirm. As they entered the room, they could see the respirator that jackass was hooked up to and that he appeared to be asleep. Slowly, Jim approached him and with his right hand pinched the intubation tube, effectively shutting off the oxygen supply. It only took a few seconds, but he came around with a start, flailing his arms about, trying to grab for the call button which Jim had covered with his other hand. Looking down at him, Jim gave a wicked grin.

"Now who's in charge?" he asked, loosening his grip a bit

Just enough air for him to take small breaths, but no more than that. Reaching into her pocket, Sara pulled out the ring and held it out for Randall to see. His hand still on the tube, Jim continued to grin.

"We know there are more. Tell us where they are and I'll let go; refuse and………well, we all know what happens when you can't breathe."

Jim kept his grip loose for a few seconds and then tightened it again, but only slightly. As Randall struggled in futility for those thirty seconds that Jim held his life in his hands, he finally put his hands up in defense and Jim knew Randall would cave. Letting go of the hose, Jim pulled out his notepad and began to write as Randall spoke.

"The house off of I-15, the storm cellar. Bring several bags cause' it's a mess down there."

"Now, that wasn't so hard, was it, now?" Jim asked, knowingly

Just then, Dr. Dellacona came in, chart in hand and looking from Jim to Sara to Randall and back to Jim, a look of slight confusion on his face. Checking the monitors and leads, he scratched his head.

"The alarm went off. What happened?"

"Oh, nothing. He just had a little trouble breathing is all."


	12. Chapter 12

I'd like to thank one of my readers for pointing out a brain art on my part. Hindsight being 20/20, we all know that when someone is intabated (sp) they can't talk due to the tube down their throat. However, they can write. Thanks for pointing that out and in the future I'll be more careful when describing medical procedure. 

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

"I could have sworn I heard the monitors going off." Dr Dellacona said, checking his notes "Nah, he must have been choking on something." Jim said flatly

After checking for pulse and returning his attention to the monitors, Dr. Dellacona seemed satisfied that all was well and turned to leave the room, but not without Sara looking at him again. Seeing this, Jim smiled as wide as he ever did.

"You were scoping his ass again, Sara"  
"I was not." she protested

"You were then, and you were now. Go ahead, ask him out. I didn't see a ring. Maybe he's not married"  
"Just because someone doesn't wear a ring doesn't mean they're not taken." she pointed out

"If I'm not mistaken, he was looking at you, too...not at your ass, but at all of you." Jim said

"I'm not gonna ask him out. Besides, I'm on the clock and so is he, so it figures we have the same schedule, which would make it difficult to schedule something."

"Agh, you pessimist. He could be on a rotating schedule. Just because he's on now doesn't mean he'll be on the same time tomorrow. If he's an ER Physician, he could be in one department one day and another the next. Go on. What've you got to lose, except your pride?" Jim said, jokingly

"Smart ass. I haven't the time for a date, nor the inclination to ask out a complete and total stranger; a handsome stranger, but a stranger nonetheless." she countered

Looking from Jim to Sara and back, Randall let a leering grin present itself on his face. Noticing this, Jim glared at him and growled.

"What the hell are you looking at, you turd eating snake"  
"It'll never work out. She's damaged goods, now. Any relationship she endeavors to enter into will be doomed from the start. She's got baggage and no man wants to deal with a broad with baggage." Randall explained

At hearing this, Sara delivered a well placed punch to Randall's right upper thigh where she'd cut him with the knife and watched as he squirmed in obvious pain. She smiled and left the room to sit in the hall in semi-solitude. Her head in her hands, she was momentarily stunned when someone sat beside her. She knew it wasn't Jim, as the colour of the slacks were a blue/green. Slowly, she turned her head and there he was, chart in hand, looking right at her. For a moment she memorized his facial features; his cheekbones, the slight lines around the edges of his eyes, the beautiful colour of his eyes, his hair and the way it just kind of fell where it wanted to and his completely disarming smile. He had a smile that almost made you want to do anything he asked, though he hadn't asked anything of her. He just sat there silently for a few moments before speaking. He could tell she wasn't in the best of moods, so he tried to lighten things up a bit. He turned to her and smiled.

"What's silent and smells like worms?" he asked

At a momentary loss for words, she just shrugged.

"Bird farts." he replied, smiling his glistening smile

For that brief moment, Sara forgot about the bastard in the room next to her and allowed herself to laugh. Turning to face her, his smile turned to a more serious expression and she knew what he was thinking. He began to speak and she slowly raised her hand to stop him talking and gave a resigned smirk.

"Let's just say he's racking up the bad Karma points." she said softly

"Well, we'll do our best to keep him alive so he can be held accountable for his crimes and misdeeds."

She smiled and thought of a joke for the doctor. Sal saw the smile on her face and asked her what she was thinking.  
She laughed and replied.

"A man with dementia was driving down the highway when his wife called him on his cell. He picked up to hear her speak….."The news says there's someone on the freeway driving the wrong way."...the man replied, "One person, there are hundreds."

Sal let out a loud guffaw and nearly dropped his chart. Stabilizing it on his knee, Sara got up and turned to him.

"Thanks"  
"For what?" he asked "That was the first time I'd laughed in a long time. I needed it. So, thanks."

Leaving Sal in the hall and returning to the room, she could see Jim bent down over Randall's bed and the horrified look on the felon's face. She loved Jim. Maybe not "love" as in LOVE, but more as a best friend. She also loved his interrogation techniques, the blood pressure cuff and the tube pinching among her favorites. After a moment he stood up and turned to Sara who was still in the doorway. Approaching her, he placed his right hand on her left elbow and escorted her from the room. In the hall, on their way out, she said bye to Sal and watched as she smiled in return.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

It was her night off and as Sara sat by herself at Ruth's Chris, sipping on her drink, a voice came up behind her and recognizing it, but not sure who it belonged to, she turned round' and smiled.

"Hey, its you." she said, smiling

"Mind if I join you?" Sal asked

"Not at all." she said, standing up and gesturing with her hand

He was dressed fairly casually in khakis, a dark polo shirt and comfortable shoes. Moments later a waitress came along and took his drink order. They sat for what seemed forever and chatted about work, play and other topics. She explained her duties and function as a CSI and he about his doctoral duties, specializing in internal medicine. Their meals had come and all through the eating, they continued to chat about this and that. When it came time to pay the check, Sal attempted to cover the check, but Sara wouldn't allow it, paying exactly half, even though her meal was considerably less costly than his.

Strolling the Promenade, they decided to plant themselves on a bench and people watch for a while as their food digested. For the better part of an hour they watched as singles and families alike passed by and that's when he did it. He let out a great yawn, stretched his arms out and reached around and rested his hand on her shoulder. Looking, Sara smiled.

"Not too subtle, are you"  
"I'm afraid not. Its not one of my strong points. As a doctor, you can't afford to be subtle, you've got to be frank and at times down right blunt. I can move if you like." he said

"No, you're fine where you are. However, if your hand wanders I might have to smack you." she said jokingly

"Well, we wouldn't want that."

Settling himself in and shifting in his spot, he got more comfortable and they continued to sit and watch for a while longer. When they decided to move on, they both got up and made their way back to the restaurant and their cars. Ever the gentleman, Sal walked Sara to her little Toyota and stood there as she unlocked her door. There was the inevitable awkward silence before he spoke up. Her door closed and her window down, she smiled as he leaned in,  
his arms crossed on the window frame.

"Can I call you some time?" he asked cautiously

Pulling out her wallet, she removed a business card and handed it to him.

"I can be reached here. If I'm not there, I'm at home, here." she said, as she scribbled her home number on the back of the card

Taking it, he slid it into his pants pocket and watched as she pulled out of the lot and onto the main street.


	13. Chapter 13

In response to questions from some of my readers; Yes, Dr. Sal Dellacona IS a real person. I met him in hospital while on holiday earlier this month. He's a great physician as well as an amazing man; very tenacious and aggressive with his medical duties...aggressive in a good way.  
XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX 

All the rest of that night Sara had thought about her supper and subsequent strolling with Dr. Sal. It was the first time in a long time that she'd felt comfortable with a person that was nearly completely foreign to her. Dr. Dellacona was, as it seemed, a decent man. He was certainly chivalrous and outwardly, the perfect gentleman. However, Sara had seen men like that before. In the beginning they were perfect, holding doors and pulling out chairs and such, but after a while their true colours began to show, exposing their true selves, however they were. Some became indifferent, some distant and some flat out bastardly. However, Sara didn't get the impression that this new man was like all the others she'd spent time with. His actions, pure and simply, were, or appeared to be those of a man that was brought up right. He was respectful, attentive and seemed to show a genuine interest in what Sara had to say, regardless of the topic in question.

By the time she had arrived at home, at Jim's, she was actually tired. She actually felt as though she could sleep. Jim was not there, she didn't know where he was, so she just slipped into her flannel jammie pants and crawled into bed and cocooned herself in the warm flannel sheets and goose down comforter. It wasn't long after her head hit the pillow that she went out like a light, her soft nose whistle and the sound of the ceiling fan filling the room with the sounds of someone sleeping soundly.

Around 02:00hrs Jim came home to see Sara's car in the drive and parked beside her so as not to block her in, need she have to go anywhere the following morning. Kicking off his shoes by the front door, he shuffled, in his stocking feet, down the hall to the bedroom to find Sara bundled up like some sort of large human burrito. In the master bathroom, he disrobed and threw the stench and filth of the day in the hamper. Closing the door completely, he took a long, hot shower and wrapped round' the waist with a towel, he padded into the bedroom for something clean and warm to wear to bed. Finding a pair of sweats and FOP t-shirt, he put on a pair of Thor-Lo's and gently tried to unwrap Sara from her self, sleep induced bundling. Just as he'd un-tucked one corner of the sheets she woke, gave a sloppy, sleep filled smile and shifted the covers his way. He slid under the sheets and spooned up behind Sara, whispering his good-night.

The following morning Sara woke with a feeling she'd not had in the longest time; completely and totally rested. At present she had her head on Jim's chest, his arm draped around her shoulder the same way Dr. Sal had done the previous night. She carefully slipped from his protective grasp and oozed out of bed, kneeling on the floor. She found the socks that he'd taken off during the night and put them on, tip toeing into the kitchen for some coffee and to forage for food. Coffee in one hand and a bag of Original flavour Sun Chips in the other, she plopped down on the couch and turned on the tellie but kept it low so as not to wake Jim. It would be several hours yet before he'd wake up on his own. On his hands and knees, he looked for his socks and not being able to find them, he pulled another pair from his sock drawer and joined Sara on the couch with coffee of his own, holding out a hand for the bag of chips.

For the better part of the day they sat there like that, just lounging and watching the tellie until it was time to go in to work. Letting Sara have the first shower afforded Jim the time to take care of a few last things before going in for the evening and as she stepped from the bathroom, wrapped only in a towel, he smiled.

"Hey, they're gone. There's not even a trace"  
"Yeah, semi back to normal"  
"So, what'd you do last night?" he asked while heading for the shower, himself

"Oh, I had dinner, went for a walk. Normal stuff, you know." she replied

"That's good. Its good you're getting out instead of staying in all the time; its not healthy."

As Jim showered, Sara dressed and made another pot of coffee for them to take in to work. Jim was a fast shower taker. He could take a full shower, getting everything, in right around three minutes. By the time Sara had slipped her shirt over her head Jim was just coming out in his towel and rooting through his drawers looking for a suitable pair of shorts to wear. In one hand he held a pair of blue cotton boxers and in the other he held a pair of olive drab green ones. Turning round' to see Sara, he held them up as she pointed to the blue ones.

"They accentuate your eyes." she said jokingly

"Maybe so, but who, other than you, knows I'll be wearing them"  
"It'll be our little secret."

Sliding them on under his towel, he let the damp cotton cloth fall to the floor in a heap and picked it up, hanging it over the bathroom door. From there, he put on a pair of khaki pants and his FOP polo shirt and for footwear he selected a pair of comfortable hiking boots, rarely used for hiking, but more for their comfort while on the job.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Sitting at his desk, Dr. Dellacona had been thinking of Sara all week and had wanted to call her the day after their meeting but didn't want to seem over eager, so he waited until Friday morning to call her. Picking up his desk phone, he dialed and took a very deep breath while the phone rang.

"Hi, this is Dr. Dellacona. Is this Sara? Good. I was wondering if you'd like to have dinner again. If we can coordinate our schedules, maybe we can work something out. Yeah? Cool. Ok, what time? Sure thing. See you then."

"That went well." he thought to himself as he looked in a small hand held mirror, smiling

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

It was the end of the week and everyone was looking forward to well deserved time off from the scum and freakiness of Las Vegas. For her part, Sara was on her way home, her home, when her cell went off. Fishing through her pockets, she pulled it out and answered it.

"Sidle. Oh, hi. How've you been? Is that so? Well, I'm off this morning, tomorrow and the following day. What did you have in mind? Sounds good. Yeah? My address is 8942 Sycamore Lane, apartment 525. I should be there in half an hour or so. Give me an hour to freshen up."

She pulled into her spot and took the stairs two at a time, and unlocking her door, she jumped out of her clothes on the way to the shower. It was a quick shower and as she stepped from the bathroom she collected her clothing from the hallway and threw it in the hamper before dressing. She found something fairly casual but slightly dressy; a nice pair of wool slacks, a silk blouse that wasn't too girlie and some comfortable shoes in case they went walking again. By the time she was fully dressed and ready to go, the doorbell went off and she answered it. There, in front of her, stood Dr. Sal dressed in black slacks, a white button down shirt with no tie and black loafers. His hair was as beautiful as it ever was and from behind his back he pulled a single white rose, smiling.

"A beautiful bud for a beautiful woman."

Blushing, she took the rose and grabbed her house and car keys, slipping them into her pocket. In the drive was Dr. Sal's 2004 BMW 7 series and Sara loved it. It was black and beautiful. As he opened the door for her and she slid in, he closed the door after her and climbed in behind the wheel, smiling. Turning to her, he smiled wider.

"So, where to?" he asked

"You're driving, so its your decision. Just so you know, I'm a vegetarian"  
"I know."

Wondering how he knew, Sara was curious but chose to keep her mouth shut and let Dr. Dellacona handle things. They ended up on main street and pulled up in front of the Luxor, where he gave his keys to the valet and escorted her from the car and into the hotel.

All in all it was a perfect day; the food was excellent, the company was stimulating, intellectually as well as spiritually and the after meal activity was very relaxing. As I said; perfect. Dr. Sal was, as ever, the perfect gentleman. As much as his curiosity kept begging that he ask about particulars of some of the cases that Sara had worked, the silent understanding that they had established prevented him doing so. Instead, at Sara's enquiries, he answered every question she asked, however morbid or detailed they were.

When all was said and done, he returned her home around 14:00hrs and, again, as he had done at the lot with her car, waited until she was safely in her apartment before he drove off. In her bedroom she dropped her clothing to the floor and crawled, as she was, under the covers. It wasn't until late in the afternoon that a knock came at the front door and went unanswered. Moments later Sara's cell went off and in her half asleep state she flipped it open and mumbled into it.

"Sidle. Oh, hey. Yeah, sure. Just use your key."

It was Jim calling to check up on her, as he'd started doing since she'd been spending more time at her place. Within seconds, the front door opened and Jim came in, groceries in hand. Stowing them properly in the fridge and cabinets, he moved to the bedroom where he could see Sara sleeping. From under the covers came a low, sleepy voice.

"Well, crawl in if you're gonna." she said, lifting the covers for him

Stripping down to his underclothes, Jim slid in, in front of her as she spooned up behind him. This had to be Jim's favourite position for sleeping; the way Sara felt, her chest rising and falling, pressed against his back and her arm around his waist, his hand covering hers. Things had become more serious between she and Jim in past weeks, as they'd spent more time together, got to know each other better and told each other some of their secrets. She liked Dr. Sal well enough, but she had more in common with Jim, as she knew him better and had known him longer. However, she was still struggling internally between her best friend and this new stranger that had made her laugh when she needed it most.

It wasn't until dark when Sara woke to find that she was trapped, not only in the firm grasp of his arms, but under his leg as well. They were still spooned, but sometime during the afternoon he had fully lifted his leg so that it snaked around and lay in front of hers. With her left hand, she gently lifted his leg, slid hers out from under it and set it back down. Next, she carefully made her way out of bed and to the bathroom for a greatly needed pee.  
After washing her hands she returned to the bedroom to see Jim on the flat of his back, arms stretched outward like he was making a snow angel. God, he was cute when he slept. She had spend many moments in recent weeks watching him sleep. His Angelic appearance while sleeping was a far cry from the hard-nosed, no bullshit Jim Brass that she saw at work. She definitely liked this one better.


	14. Chapter 14

The next day and week went by with the speed of Mercury and by the time Jim and Sara's vacation time came she was completely psyched. She had made all the arrangements for a cabin in Tahoe. The cabin was on the water's edge, had a fireplace, two rooms (just incase) and other amenities. By the time both of them had clocked out, Sara was waiting in front of the lab in a rental truck with both hers and Jim's bags packed and loaded on the boot of the truck. Smiling as Jim stepped outside, she flung the door open and called to him. 

"Come on, man. Our bags are packed and if we leave now we might have some time to wander around before it gets too dark."

Jumping in the passenger seat, he buckled himself in and lowered the seat back so he could catch some shut eye. He had no idea where they were going, but given the efficiency with which Sara had put everything together, it had to be something good. As he crossed his arms across his chest, he turned his head to look at the way the sunlight came through the driver's window and played on Sara's features, adding shadow and light; she was beautiful.

"How long is the drive?" he asked "Just over nine hours"  
"Wake me if you get tired"  
"Ok, maybe at the halfway point at Tonopah"  
"Sounds good."

And he closed his eyes, covering them with his shades. During the drive, Sara would periodically look over at Jim in his sleeping state and smile. For herself, she didn't need much sleep and would often go days without, but to be able to watch Jim sleep, his slight snore and his lips somewhat puckered and his brow line looking as though he were dreaming something serious, all she could do was smile.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

It was everything she hoped it would be. As they pulled up to the lodge to check in, Sara gently nudged Jim awake and watched as his eyes fluttered open and he tried to focus on his surroundings. He knew they were far from Vegas, of that he was certain, but where exactly? Letting out a great yawn, he rubbed his head and looked over at Sara who was still smiling.

"Well, the air is clean and the trees are big and very green, so I'd have to say...Tahoe?" he said, still yawning

"That's why you're the detective and I'm the analyst. Come on, let's check in."

They climbed form the truck, and stretching their stiff limbs, meandered up the front steps of the lodge, Jim holding the door open for her. Within minutes they had checked in and were on their way to their little getaway cabin, which, by the way, wasn't so little; it was the largest, most secluded one that was available. Inside the floor plan was fairly open, having a small kitchen to the right of the front door, a living area to the left of the door, two open doors, one being the bathroom and the other being the second bedroom and a flight of stairs against the outside wall that led to the loft upstairs and a king sized bed. Everything was done in Earth tones and very tastefully decorated.

Dropping their bags by the front door, Sara made a bee-line for the bathroom while Jim carried the bags upstairs. He just assumed that since they'd been sharing the same bed in Vegas that the situation wouldn't change just because they were on holiday. He carefully unpacked everything and put it in it's proper place and by the time he'd finished Sara was calling to him from downstairs.

"So, what do we want to do for supper?" she asked

"To tell you the truth, I'm not all that hungry, but if you are, we can see what's open."

Sara wasn't all that hungry either, so as Jim descended the stairs from the loft, she dropped down on the couch in the living area and flipped on the tellie. Going through the channels, she found an ice hockey game and just as she was about to change the channel Jim sat beside her and let out a sigh.

"Ahh, good old hockey. Do you mind?"

"Not at all. You get the game and I get your lap. Deal?" she asked knowingly

"Deal."

She lay on her side and rest her head in Jim's lap and as he watched the game she slowly fell asleep. As Jim had been asleep during the entire ride up to Tahoe, he was up most of the night. He tried to keep the volume and his cheers as quiet as he could and when Sara rolled over, her face to his belly, he reached behind him on the back rest of the couch and pulled down a throw, covering her with it. During commercials of whatever he was watching he'd look down and watch her sleeping soundly and wondered to himself what it might be like to see her like this on a daily basis…..permanently.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

When she woke, Sara was upstairs in the very big bed with Jim next to her on his stomach, his left arm around her abdomen. Lifting the covers so she could get up and use the bathroom, she noticed that he was sans clothes...No shirt and NO boxers. She wondered what had prompted this, but didn't wonder for too long, as she really had to go. When she returned he was on his right side and as she spooned up in front of him she could feel his morning wood. Laughing silently, to herself, Sara just went back to sleep. It had been some time since she had had any nightmares, but for the sake of familiarity and developed sleeping comfort, Jim and Sara had continued their sleeping arrangements. When sleeping alone, neither of them got a good night's rest and it was shortly after both of them realized this that they went back to sharing a bed and each other's companionship while asleep.

Finally, around 10:00hrs, Sara woke to the sound of rustling in the kitchen. Climbing from bed, she threw on the shirt Jim had been wearing the previous day and went down to see what was going on. She found Jim in the kitchen making a breakfast of scrambled eggs, home fried potatoes, fakin' bacon and wheat toast, with a fresh pot of coffee on the counter behind him. With a combination yawn/smile, Sara took one of the mugs and poured herself a cup, leaning against the counter, watching Jim cook. Without hesitation, she asked about his nakedness during the night, to which Jim only laughed.

"I swear, it was like "Night of the Killer Wedgie." No matter how many times I adjusted...um...things, it wouldn't go away. You weren't uncomfortable with me all naked and stuff, were you?"

"Not at all. I was just wondering. If I'd've known you were a commando sleeper I wouldn't have endured all those nights of binding undies and lopsided tank tops.. I usually sleep with nothing, but given our relationship thus far, I didn't think it wise to go naked just yet." she said, smiling

He looking at her and she seeing that glint in his eye, she just sort of stood there, thoughtfully sipping her hot coffee.

"Well, don't let me stop you sleeping the way you normally do. I'm a grown man and I do believe I can keep my hands...and other parts of me to myself." he replied

Thinking back to Jim's very large piece of morning wood, she just smiled, laughed a little and went back to her coffee. Turning the potatoes in the pan, Jim asked the question that had been weighing most heavily on his mind since they'd left the lab the previous day.

"So, what prompted this little getaway? Not that I'm complaining, far from it, but I was just wondering is all."

"I thought that after all the crap I'd been through and you taking care of me, that we deserved it. Besides, where would you rather be, here on holiday or back in Vegas clearing a scene?" she replied

"Touché." he said while masterfully lifting the pan from the range top and flipping the potatoes

Setting her mug down, Sara turned and began to open the cabinets looking for plates and utensils and other food eating implements. When they finally sat down to eat, Sara didn't eat much but Jim ate like a horse, devouring everything on his plate, save for the fakin' bacon, which he thought tasted like cardboard.

Later in the day, closer to early afternoon, they set out from their cabin for a little stroll in the woods and along the lake. Again, hand in hand, as had become the norm for these two, they chatted about little things as Jim tried to stop himself asking some more serious questions he'd been thinking as of late. As they continued along the shore and Sara prattled on about how she could live in a place like this, in his mind, Jim was working out the details, questions and responses to what he really wanted to talk about, which was about as far from what Sara talking about as one could get. Seeing a downed tree in the distance, Jim guided them over to it and patted it to make sure it wasn't wet before they sat on it. A little damp, Jim removed his jacket, set it on the bark and gestured for Sara to have a seat. They sat there in silence for a few moments before Jim turned to see Sara staring out over the water, looking, he assumed, at the reflection of the sun on the slight ripples. For a few moments he just gazed at her until he summoned up the courage to speak his mind. Turning to face her, he took her hand between his hands and began, looking into her eyes.

"Sara, hun. There's something I've been thinking about a lot as of late...something I wanted to run by you and see what your thoughts are on it."

Looking down at their hands joined, she had an idea as to what he was referring, and she knew this would be a big step for him, opening himself up like this, so she simply looked at him and smiled.

"Yes?"

"This was good", he thought to himself as he took a deep breath and continued

"We've been spending a lot of time together these past weeks, time which I have enjoyed immensely, and I was wondering if you'd be amenable to making things between us a bit more official. I've heard the rumours flying around the lab, rumours that we're together, and I was wondering if you'd like to turn those rumours into truth."

She liked Jim, of this there was no doubt, but she didn't quite think she was ready for a relationship yet. But as she thought more and more on it, she realized that they were already in a relationship, maybe not romantic, but damn near. Let's look at the facts, shall we? They spent time at each other's places, they, more often than not, were together during off work hours, they were sharing the same bed and so on. Would it not be for the lack of sex, they'd already be together.

Taking her free hand and placing it on his cheek, she rubbed with her thumb and smiled. Leaning in, she placed a kiss on his cheek, and seeing the reaction in his eyes, she moved to his lips, delivering a nice open mouthed kiss on his wonderfully luscious lips. Pulling back after a moment, she said three words.

"Sure, why not?"


	15. Chapter 15

They A bit surprised at her simple reply to his very serious question, Jim wasn't quite sure what to do about her kiss and subsequent acceptance. He thought, maybe she'd say she needed to think things through or something like that, but evidently she'd already been thinking about things and had come to her conclusion. After the kiss and a nice long embrace, they just sat there on the tree and looked out onto the water and said nothing in companionable silence. About an hour or so later they got up and began walking again, still hand in hand. 

As they headed back t the cabin, Sara continued to go over in her head what Jim had said and the facts of the situation. Hindsight being 20/20, she thought she shouldn't have accepted so quickly and this was for several reasons, not the least of which being she was still not 100, mentally and emotionally, that is. She liked Jim a lot, that was true, but she admonished herself for putting not only herself but him in a potentially uncomfortable situation. She didn't feel it was fair to him for her to accept his "proposal" until she was certain she was ready for a serious relationship, and that's what she wanted and she knew that's what Jim wanted, too.

They were still silent as they ascended the steps to their cabin and she went to sit on the couch while Jim made a snack in the kitchen. He'd noticed that she was quiet since their chat and truth be told, it was bothering him a bit. Maybe she was going to take it back, tell him she wasn't ready yet, which he could understand. In his mind, he thought that it was too soon for him to ask and readied himself for whatever she had to say on the subject,  
whenever she'd readdress it.

It wasn't until nighttime and they were in bed, clothed, this time, that her silence became unbearable for him. She on her back and he on his side, he placed his hand on her heart and was a bit surprised at how fast and hard it was beating. Turning to face him, she offered a lopsided smile and a sigh. His head propped up on his left elbow,  
he smiled uncomfortably.

"What's the matter, hun?"

It took a few moments of very uncomfortable silence before she replied.

"I like you Jim. I like you a lot. But I've been thinking that I might not be ready for a relationship just yet. I'm still dealing with what happened and to be honest, being in those situations have made me think about my life and how I want to live it. I definitely want to be with you, GOD, more than anything, but I just don't think I'm ready yet. Its not commitment, I'm not afraid of that, I just don't think I'm much good for myself right now, not to mention anyone else. I know I should have thought more before I said yes, but I was so excited and flattered that I couldn't help myself. I've always like you, that's a secret...I just hope this doesn't ruin things between us. I want to be with you, but I don't believe now is the right time."

More silence and then she rolled over, her back to him. Something in the back of his mind kept telling him to wait, to wait for her to recover some more before asking her, but admittedly selfishly, he wanted to ask then and there. He knew it was too soon and now he was mentally kicking himself...not for putting himself out in the way he did, but for his timing. He slid up behind her, wrapped his right arm around her waist and pulled her to him. Lightly kissing the back of her neck that was exposed from her shirt, he spoke softly.

"I'm sorry, Sara. It was selfish of me to ask so soon. I know you've been through a lot as of late and I should have waited...just remember though, when you're ready, I'll be here for you...now lets get some sleep" he said, kissing her neck one last time

They slept the night very comfortably, and as Jim woke periodically, he just lay there watching Sara sleep. GOD, she was beautiful when she slept, for as long as he and she had been sharing the same bed, this was always something he liked to do. It wasn't creepy or anything, he just liked to watch her sleep. The way certain facial expressions would present themselves on her face, the little noises she would make and the way she would mumble little things that he could not decipher, he loved it all.

The sun was up and so was Jim, having spent the better part of the last hour watching Sara. However, since he had to use the bathroom with some urgency, he carefully slid out of bed and shuffled his way downstairs to do his business. When he was done, he padded into the kitchen to make some coffee and having slipped into some sweats, he took his coffee and sat on the front porch and watched nature for a while. He saw a family of deer cross in front of the cabin and what looked like a family of foxes as well. He was totally relaxed when he got a feeling to turn round' and when he did, he caught a snake coming across the porch and jumped up, high tailing in back inside the cabin. Standing by the door, he watched as the snake crossed the length of the porch and into the woods. He wasn't one to scare easily, but he'd always had a thing about snakes, they'd always given him the creeps. He knew which were poisonous and which were not, but still, he just got the willies whenever he saw one.

A couple of hours later, when Sara woke to an empty bed, she put on some warmer clothes and went down to the kitchen for her own coffee and joined Jim back out on the front porch. They said nothing, save for their good mornings and sat and watched the woods, listening to the birds and other forest critters. Around noon they went into town for some more groceries and to do a bit of sight seeing. There really wasn't much to see, so the trip was short. When they returned to their cottage, Jim began to unload the groceries while Sara sat in the living room writing in her journal, the same one Jim had read all those weeks ago back in her apartment when he'd found her in bed. Having stowed everything, he joined her but didn't ask what she was writing about, his thinking being that if she wanted him to know she'd tell him in her own time. He sat beside her and propped his feet up on the rail of the screened in porch and let out a great sigh. Looking over at him and closing her book, she smiled.

"So, what do we want to do today?" she asked "Looks like its gonna rain. I saw some board games in one of the closets, how do you feel about Mancala"  
"Are you sure? Its mighty addictive. One time Greg and I played for four straight hours"  
"Well, there seems little else to do, so why not?"

They went inside and pulled out the board and set it on the coffee table, Jim sitting on the floor and Sara on the couch. Sara's warning, ignored by Jim, came true, in that they played for several hours before Jim looked at his watch and realized that they'd been playing for three hours. Surprised, he smiled to himself and moved his few remaining pieces to win the game. Smiling to himself, he got up and stretched his slightly stiff limbs.

"Its 16:00hrs, how bout' supper?" he suggested

"What've you got in mind"  
"Eggplant parmesan with rice and steamed veggies?"

While Jim made supper Sara set the table and when she was done she stood in the kitchen, leaning against the counter, watching Jim work his magic. She loved to watch him cook. She noticed that when he was cooking he seemed to be at peace, moving in precise, deliberate silence, doing his thing. As he breaded the eggplant, she watched in amused silence as he hummed to himself and shook his butt as his humming got louder. She tried to figure out what tune he was humming but didn't recognize it.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

The week had come as fast as it had come and when it was time to go back to the city both Jim and Sara were reluctant. This had been the most relaxing week either of them had had in quite some time. As they loaded up the truck they silently said good bye to the lodge and turned to each other, speaking the same words in tandem.

"We've got to come back here some time."

They both smiled and pulled out of the gravel lot and headed back home to the filth and scum of Las Vegas. By the time they got back it was nearly dark and rather than drop her at him at his place, they both stayed at her place. Dropping their bags by the front door, they didn't even bother to unpack before going to bed. They would both have the next day off, to recoup and rest before returning to work.

Around 09:00hrs, the following morning, Jim woke to the sound of someone knocking on the door. Growling, he got up, wearing only his boxers, and went to answer the door. Approaching the front door and looking through the peep hole, he frowned.

On the other side of the door stood Dr. Dellacona, flowers in hand and a big, goofy grin on his face. Jim wondered why the good doctor would be calling so early, and coming up empty, he took a deep breath and sighed. Opening the door and standing there in his shorts he watched the expression on the man's face change from one of hopefulness to confusion as he stared at Jim in his underclothes. Gripping the flowers more tightly, Sal stammered his greeting.

"I...I'm looking for Sara...Is...is she here?"

Smiling on the inside, Jim replied.

"She's asleep. Is there something I can help you with?"

Dejected, Sal just muttered something and turned on his heel, walking back down to his car, pulling out and leaving the apartment complex. As for Jim, he was still standing there, watching as the doctor pulled away, reveling in his small victory.


	16. Chapter 16

Sliding back into bed beside Sara, Jim noticed that she had moved since he had gotten up. She was, at present, laying on her back with her right arm stretched out across his pillow. No sooner had he pulled the covers up over himself and snuggled up to her right side, she spoke softly. 

"Who was that at the door"  
"Dr. What's his name."

In her mind, Sara wished that she had answered the door instead of him. She could only imagine the look on the good doctor's face when he saw Jim in his underclothes. If she had been at the door she would have been gracious and explained that this was not the time for a visit, as she was quite tired. She liked Dr. Dellacona, this was true enough and if asked she would not deny it, but as was the same with Jim and their situation, she wasn't ready for any sort of relationship, no matter with whom it would be. She knew she was pretty. She also knew she wasn't gorgeous, nor was she fugly...she considered herself to be average. However, she'd never had two men vying for her affections before and she wasn't quite sure how to take all of it. There were things about Dr. Sal that she liked and there were things about Jim that she liked. Dr. Sal was new, and thusly very interesting to her, as she loved to learn new things. It was this strike that Jim had against him, as he and Sara had known each other for years and there was little they didn't know about each other. As she lay there with Jim's head on her shoulder and his arm across her stomach, she tried to go back to sleep but after an hour or so of mentally flopping around, she turned to see that Jim had fallen back asleep and carefully slipped from under his protective hold.

She shuffled into the living room where she began to sift through the stack of mail that had piled up over the past week. She had asked Nick to water her plant and bring in any mail, which he had done. She made two piles, one for junk mail and another pile to be opened. Having tossed the junk mail in the cylindrical file, she began to open the small stack of more important letters. There were the usual bills and such, but when she reached the bottom of the stack, she left the letter on the table and stared at it. It came from the courthouse and was, no doubt, in regards to Randall's trial. After a few moments of staring at it, she picked it up and read it. Within the letter was the date that his trial was set to begin, so she grabbed her pocket calendar from the computer desk and marked the date and time of the court date. She made a note to call the prosecution's attorney and make herself available to testify, which could only strengthen their case against Randall.

Sometime around 10:00hrs Jim got up and finding himself alone in bed, he slowly got up and followed the smell of fresh brewed coffee. On the counter, beside the machine, there was a note. Jim picked it up and read it.

"Jim, gone to the market...be back soon. Call if you need anything. Hugs, Sara."

Jim smiled as he poured himself some coffee and sat on the couch, flipping on the tellie.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Pushing the buggy down the aisle and trying to decide on red grapes or green ones, she whipped round' when she heard a familiar voice. Standing there, basket in hand, was Dr. Sal. Quickly looking into his basket, she smiled...he had chosen the green grapes.

"Fancy meeting you here." he said

"Yeah, well, my fridge is empty or very nearly so, anyway. You came over this morning?" she asked

A moment's hesitation and then he replied.

"Yeah, I wanted to see if you wanted to grab breakfast or something."

Thinking back to her thoughts from that morning when Jim had told her about Dr. Sal, she smiled.

"It's a bit late for breakfast…..how bout' brunch?"

A huge grin on his face, Dr. Dellacona's heart began to beat very fast.

"Sure. Where do you wanna go?" he asked

"Doesn't matter. Anywhere is fine." she said, smiling

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Having decided to go to the Palms, Sara and Sal sat quietly while they perused their menus, he selecting a medium rare sirloin steak and veggies and she the Caesar salad. While waiting to be served they discussed little things, Sal stating that he'd tried to get a hold of her that past week and how he was worried she was avoiding him. Sara simply explained that she was on holiday and the cell reception was nil. When their orders finally came they ate in silence and when they were done they went for a walk to burn off some of what they'd just eaten..

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Sitting at a red light, Gil Grissom was fiddling with the radio in his truck when he noticed a couple crossing the street in front of him...it was Sara and Sal. Grissom recognized him from previous visits to the hospital and honked his horn. Snapping her head up, Sara caught Gil waving at her and simply smiled. To the best of his knowledge Sara was still out of town, but to see her with the doctor, for some reason, he became flushed, his face turning red and his knuckles white. He had told her several times to get a life outside of work but never thought she would. Now that it appeared that she had, he could feel the pangs of slight jealousy surfacing. He'd made it pointedly clear that there was no chance for the two of them, but to see her with another man...it just made his skin crawl. Besides, he'd thought that she and Jim were seeing each other, or at least that was the rumour around the lab. Maybe she and Jim were just friends...friends that took a week long holiday together. Gil wasn't stupid. He wasn't oblivious to the timing of both their vacation vouchers. He knew they'd gone together, but then why was she with the doctor?

Sara and Sal kept walking like nothing had happened and as he watched them disappear into the multitudes of people on the sidewalk he tried to get the image of Sara with another man out of his head, much to no avail.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

By the time Sara got home it was well into early afternoon and as she set the groceries on the kitchen counter Jim sat on the couch and watched her. While she was out he had gone back to his place for a change of clothes and to pack an overnight bag, just in case. Curious as to what took her so long, he tried to make a joke out of it.

"What'd you do, got to China?"

Without hesitation, she replied.

"No. I met a friend and we went for brunch. I should have called. Sorry."

Jim accepted this and got up to help her stow the day's purchases. When they were done he turned to her and smiled.

"I've got to go in for a little while today. Will you be here when I get back"  
"Most likely"  
"Good." he said, planting a kiss on her cheek

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Sitting at his desk, Jim was going through some case files when Gil came in and sat across from him. He had an uneasy look on his face that Jim noticed immediately. Setting the file folder down, he enquired.

"What's the trouble, cousin?"

Not sure how to broach the subject and never really having been one for subtlety, Gil just spit it out.

"I saw Sara this morning." he said

"Yeah?" Jim asked nonchalantly

"She was with that doctor from Desert Palm."

All at once, Jim's heart sank and at the same time beat in a near rage. Had she planned the rendezvous or was it a chance encounter? Immediately he thought that maybe the reason that she had reseeded his proposal was that she had feelings for the doctor. Maybe she wasn't sure...he didn't know, but as Gil continued to relay what he'd seen that afternoon Jim became unhappy and truth be told, a little depressed. Maybe his being a detective wasn't enough for her. Maybe she wanted a boyfriend with a more prestigious occupation...and a doctor would certainly fall into that category.

All the rest of the day Jim thought about what Gil had told him and all the while Jim tried not to let himself get upset. After all, it was he that suggested that she ask Dr. Sal out, and now that they had been spotted in conjunction of her turning down his "proposal", Jim had to know. Closing everything down and walking out to his car, he headed for Sara's apartment when it happened. He could see it coming but there was nothing he could do except sit there and take it. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the truck coming and as he prepared himself, he loosened up, closed his eyes and felt the impact.


	17. Chapter 17

Jim had been crossing a rather busy intersection and was the last to cross under the yellow light when the Hummer slammed into the passenger side of his car. He was pushed about thirty or forty feet and when he stopped, he was pinned between a telephone pole and the front end of the large truck. The air bags having been deployed, this lessened the damage a bit, but Jim was still injured, he could feel it...pain in his left leg, the left side of his head felt warm and cool at the same time and a stabbing pain in his left arm. Reaching over with his right hand, he felt his head and when he looked at his fingers they were covered with his blood. Still conscious, but only barely so, he pulled the cell from his jacket pocket and dialed 911. It was only a matter of minutes before the ambulance and fire trucks arrived and as they pried him from his badly mangled car he lost consciousness. One of the paramedics having recognized Jim called the lab and was transferred to Grissom's office where Gil picked up the call. 

The conversation was very brief and to the point, he only having been told that Captain Brass was in an accident and was being taken to hospital, his wounds, especially his head wound, critical. Gil thought that Sara might like to know this little bit of information so as soon as he finished with the medic he called her apartment.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Sitting at her computer piddling away, waiting for Jim to come back, she nearly jumped when the phone rang. Crossing the floor, she picked up the cordless by the front door to hear the brief relay of information from Grissom. Jumping into a pair of jeans, t-shirt and trainers, she grabbed her wallet and keys and lead-footed it to the hospital. When she arrived Grissom was already there and as they sat in chairs waiting for Jim's prognosis,  
Gil comforted a weeping Sara. When she had composed herself, Gil told her what all had happened and that things looked kind of glum.

It wasn't for another hour or so until the trauma doctor cam out and found Gil and now not only Sara but Nick as well. They braced themselves for what would prove to be some very bad news. Pulling up a chair, the doctor introduced himself and began running through the list of Jim's injuries.

"I'm Dr. Maybourne. I was on call when Captain Brass was brought in." he explained "Is it bad?" Sara asked in a squeak of a voice "Well, his left arm is broken in several places, his elbow is shattered. His left femur is broken as are his tibia and fibula. His left clavicle is broken and he's got a depressed skull fracture with a nasty gash on his head. We've got him on the table right now, trying to fix his collapsed lung from one of his broken ribs. When we've done what we can do for today, the next 24 hours will be critical. Are there any next of kin we need to notify?"

No one answered.

"Maybe a girlfriend of wife?"

Sara sat up straight and slowly raised her hand in response. Turning to her, the doctor changed his tone as he enquired about Jim's medical wishes, be it a living will or DNR. To this, she could only answer that she didn't know.

"We'll do all we can to save him, but with all the damage, it doesn't look good. I hate to say it, but you best prepare yourselves." Dr. Maybourne stated

When the doctor had left Gil and Nick had turned to Sara, questioning looks on their faces. Sara wasn't about to go into detail right then, she just sat back in her chair and, in her mind, ran over the events of the past week they'd spent together. Jim said he'd wait for her and it was then that she decided that if he came out of this alive she'd re-accept his proposal. She thought it odd that it would take something ike this, like a near fatal accident for her to realize how much he meant to her and how much she loved him. She loved everything about him...everything from his paunch and broad, furry chest to the way sometimes would snort when he was laughing too hard. She loved him as he was and wouldn't ask him to change a thing.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Hours passed and when Dr. Maybourne came back it was with a heavy heart that he relayed the upshot of the procedures that had been done to save Jim...for the time being. Nick and Gil had gone for coffee which left Sara sitting alone in chairs waiting for any news, be it good or bad. Feeling a hand on her shoulder, she slowly picked her head up and looked at the doctor sitting across from her. With a great sigh, he started.

"We've patched him up as best we can. He's in recovery right now. We've got him sedated so he's not in any registered pain. We've got him in an upper-body cast for his chest and arm and a cast on his left leg. His head wound is what we've got to focus on right now. He had some swelling of the brain, but his skull, the way it broke, split a section from his zygomatic bone to his maxilla, that is helping to quell some of the swelling. We're hoping that those bones that have separated themselves will allow his brain to recover its size and through doing so, as the swelling goes down the bones will reset themselves. I've seen it work before, so there's a good chance it will this time. His head is bandaged up pretty good and we've sutured his cheek and forehead...now its just a waiting game." he explained

"Waiting for him to regain consciousness?" she asked quietly

"Correct"  
"Can I see him"  
"Like I said, he's sedated, but I don't see any reason not to let you see him. I'm not making any promises...he's not pretty, but when he heals, some minor plastic surgery can correct any scarring that might be left."

Getting up, they both walked down the hall to a cubicle of sorts. Pulling the curtain back, it hit her like a ton of bricks. Jim was in disrepair from head to toe. His left eye was swollen shut and he was hooked up to a heart monitor as well as pulse-ox and was currently being given an EKG. Turning to Sara, Maybourne placed a hand on her shoulder.

"He's got brain activity...that's good, and his heart is strong, but like I said, it's a waiting game now."

Thankful for the encouraging words, she asked to be alone with Jim. Rolling the EKG from the curtained room and sliding the drape closed, the doctor and nurse left Sara and Jim alone. Pulling up a chair to his right side, she took his hand in hers and laced their fingers together, her lips pressed to the back of his hand. She sat with her head on the edge of the bed, beside him, and closed her eyes.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

When Gil and Nick returned and found Sara missing they asked the duty nurse of her whereabouts and were directed to curtain 14. Walking down the hall and approaching number 14, Gil slowly pulled the curtain back to see Sara asleep, her head still on the bed next to Jim, their hands still together and she peacefully snoring. Deciding not to disturb her, they just stood there for a few minutes looking at Jim, their skin crawling from the sight before them.

Scribbling a note on a piece of paper from Jim's note pad that Gil had pulled from the patient property bag, he set it on the bedside table and he and nick left for shift.

When she woke, Sara read the note left by Grissom and called him, stepping out into the ambulance bay, as there was no cell signal inside the hospital. She said she was going to take an extended leave of absence so she could be with Jim when he woke and during his subsequent recovery. Gil didn't fight her on this, he knew how close they were, so he just filled out the proper form, signed her signature in absentia and filed it with HR.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

For the better part of a week Jim was unconscious and the only time Sara left his bedside was to use the bathroom and when Nick would come by to relieve her so she could go home and shower. All other times she sat dutifully at his bedside, waiting for him to wake.

It was on that Thursday, four days after the accident that Jim finally woke in the early afternoon. He couldn't move and he didn't know why. His mind foggy and his vision slightly blurred, he strained to focus on his surroundings. He immediately figured he was in hospital and as he felt pressure on his free hand, he looked down to see the lovely brown hair of Sara's head resting beside him on his bed. Things coming into better focus now, he gave a slight squeeze and offered his best morphine induced smile as she looked up at him, her face streaked from thousands of tears having been cried over days past.

He tried to talk but could not, for the breathing tube down his throat. Immediately, Sara pressed the call button and a nurse came in. Seeing Jim awake, she called for Maybourne who was there within minutes and seeing Jim, he smiled.

"You think you can breathe without this?" he asked, motioning to the tube

Jim blinked his response and within seconds he was divested of his breathing aid. His lips chapped and his mouth dry, he could only mouth the word "water". The nurse returned moments later with a pitcher and a cup which Sara filled and re-filled for Jim until he had had enough. Checking Jim's stats for a few moments, the nurse and doctor did their thing then left Jim and Sara to themselves.

Through tears of joy, Sara managed to speak.

"I...I thought I'd lost you...You...You looked so bad and the doctor said you might not make it. I...I was so worried."

Disengaging their hands momentarily, Jim reached down to cup her tear streaked cheek in his hand, rubbing with his thumb as she continued to cry. He took a few deep breaths and then said those four words he'd said in Tahoe.

"Like I said, "I'm not going anywhere."


	18. Chapter 18

Two weeks and it was finally time for Jim to go home. Sara had been by his side the whole time while he was in hospital and as he was wheeled from his room to the curbside, she brought the truck around. To accommodate his upper body cast which stabilized his left arm out to his side as if he had it around someone's shoulder, he had to sit in the back seat, his back to the inside of the door, as he lay his leg on the seat as well. The swelling of his face had gone down considerably, and as the doctor had theorized, his facial fracture had reset itself...he was feeling much better. He was still in some degree of pain, so as Sara stopped at the apothecary's on the way back to his house, he sat and waited, thinking of the conversations he and she had had over weeks past. He knew she liked him but had no idea she'd be so emotional about everything, but then again, she was an emotional creature, not really being one to hide what she was feeling. 

When they pulled into his drive, Sara got out and opened the door for Jim and helped him out. He had crutches but hated using them as he thought they made him look feeble and crippled. He hobbled inside the house and plopped himself down on the couch, his leg propped up on a pillow and his back against the armrest. Sitting on the edge of the coffee table, across from Jim, she took his hand in hers and he could see the tears welling up in her eyes before she began to speak. He hated to see her cry, and even more so, he hated to see her cry over him. He had been in an accident, like hundreds of other people every day. It was a bad one, granted, but Jim saw it as just another of life's trials...could they get through it? He believed they could and in doing so, come out all the stronger for it.

In hospital he had been doing very well with his physical therapy and was told by the doctor that he could have his casts off within weeks. He'd, no doubt, need a cane for a bit, until his leg got stronger, but Jim was trying to stay positive about things, he'd leave the worrying to Sara.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Four weeks later and as Jim and Sara sat in the doctor's waiting room to get Jim's casts off, he decided he'd want to save the arm and chest cast, as it had been signed by nearly all the lab personnel and some officers. He liked to joke about it, when he'd fall asleep from the pain pills and wake with a new drawing or signature, he'd growl, "Vandals". He'd been going in to work after two weeks at home, stating that he was going stir crazy, but limited himself to desk duty. So while he sat at his desk looking over case reports and doing paperwork, Sara would go to work, do her job and when shift was over she'd drive to the precinct and pick him up, bringing him to what had become their home. Sara had all but moved out of her apartment and it was this that Jim wanted to address. He loved having her around and if he wasn't mistaken, and he didn't believe he was, she liked being with him. There had been no real further discussion of them as a couple, but at the same time there was what seemed to be a silent understanding that they were. There were the little things like hugs, kisses, cuddling on the couch or in front of the fire, hand holding and some very sexually frustrating make out sessions. I say sexually frustrating because as Jim was in his cast it would have made anything carnal in nature kind of on the difficult side...plus, which, Sara wanted to wait until he Jim was 100 before they became truly romantic.

"Mr. Brass."

Jim snapped his head up at the calling of his name and hobbled over to the tech who held the door open for him as Sara followed. Seated in a chair, waiting for the doctor, Sara turned to Jim and smiled.

"So now you'll be fully functional"  
"Does this mean the sponge baths are over?" he asked jokingly

"Not if you don't want them to." she replied

Jim smiled wide and it was then that the doctor came in and readied himself for removal of Jim's casts. It only took a few minutes and once they were off it was shocking to see how much weight he had lost. His chest cast having been removed first, you could tell by the pale skin and slight flabby condition of his body...Sara made a mental note to fatten him up again post haste. Doing a few range of motion exercises, both Jim and the doctor were impressed, his back and arm had full mobility. As the leg cast came off, again, the paleness and loss of muscle tone were present and Sara made the same mental note again. Standing up and crossing the room and back to his seat, Jim seemed to be 100. Sitting back down, he answered as the doctor questioned him.

"I think you're good to go"  
"I've been taking my calcium supplements for the bones and vitamin E oil for the scars"  
"Yeah, those have healed nicely. If you keep up with the oil application I see no need for plastic surgery, but I want you to use a cane foe a few weeks until your leg gets stronger."

"I've already been using one. I hate those damned crutches, so limiting." he replied

"I want to see you again in one month to chart your progress. So you're free to go."

Virtually jumping up, Jim grabbed Sara and they all but flew out of the office and to the truck in the lot. Climbing behind the wheel, Jim had to get used to driving again, and as Sara strapped herself in, Jim did the same and slowly they drove home, Jim's home.

XxxxxxxxxxxxX

Sitting on the couch, Jim turned to Sara and took a deep breath as what he had to say was kind of on the important side. Taking her hand in his, he rubbed lightly and offered a pseudo-smile.

"I think you should move in with me, here at my house."

She was a bit taken aback, but not totally surprised. In recent weeks her apartment had been gradually getting more and more empty. Now she was basically paying rent for a place she was no longer at. Smiling, she accepted.

"Sure. I've only got a few things there anyway, but are you sure? I mean this is a big step." she replied

"You've been here for months now. I don't see much of a difference between you staying here and living here."

"Ok, then. I'll let management know that I'll be out by month's end and I'll call Goodwill to pick up whatever I don't need here like pots and pans and other stuff like furniture."

That having been settled, they lay down for a well deserved nap, as it was both their day's off. Though it was only midday, they were both quite tired. Jim was glad to have the casts off, but to tell the truth he was a bit apprehensive about the saw and how close it got to his skin when the doctor was removing said casts. He could feel the hot air produced by the motor and blade and even reached out for Sara's hand at one point. She had had casts as a child and knew exactly what Jim was feeling, but now that he was free of his bonds he was finding it kind of on the difficult side to move without them. Toward the end he had been putting weight on his leg, limping through the lab and precinct, but now that he was without them he noticed that he was still walking as though he still had them.

Laying in bed, spooned up together, they fell fast asleep and didn't wake until the early hours of the following morning. So as not to screw up their sleep schedules, they both took some knock out pills and the next time they woke it was late morning...they'd have to go in to work later that day. Jim was the first to wake and as he climbed out of bed, being careful not to wake a still sleeping Sara, he took a shower and grabbed a shower scrub brush to get rid of the pale, flaky skin on his leg, chest and arm. Standing in front of the bathroom mirror, he could see that the majority of his chest hair was gone and his muscle tone was severely lacking. He made a mental note to make full use of the weight bench and weights in his garage as soon as possible. Having shaved and completed his morning routine, he made for the kitchen to brew some coffee and surprise Sara with some breakfast in bed. He suspected that by her weight she would be asleep far longer than he was.

Breakfast in bed tray in hand, Jim entered the bedroom and saw the beautiful sight of his lady love asleep on her back, her arm crooked over her eyes, blocking out the sun. Sitting beside her and setting the tray over her lap, he gently brushed his thumb across her cheek until she woke, her eyes foggy and straining to focus. Once she was fully awake, she smiled when she saw Jim and looked down to see the food in her lap. Sitting up in bed, she smiled.

"If this is how I can expect to wake up on a regular basis, then I'm yours forever." she said, taking a sip of coffee

"Not on a regular basis, but not a rarity either." he replied


	19. Chapter 19

The next few days went by with lightening speed and by week's end both Jim and Sara were looking forward to some well deserved time off. They'd end up just lazing about the house, but it was relaxing nonetheless. Sara had one week to clear out of her apartment and even though Jim had offered to help her move, she knew he was just trying to be gracious. She suggested, instead, that he stay home and prepare supper. That would afford him time to rest while still getting something accomplished. He felt kind of useless, being temporarily crippled and all, but Sara assured him that he'd recover and be back to his old self in no time. 

While Jim as doing his thing in the kitchen it also afforded him the time to do some serious thinking. He thought about he and Sara and the months they'd spent together and the years they'd known each other. True, Jim was no Spring chicken, but in the time he'd spent with Sara these past months he'd begun seriously thinking about family and permanency. He loved Sara, there was no question about that, but did he love her enough to ask her to marry her? He knew her deepest, darkest secrets, her moods and melancholy and knowing all of this, he still loved her. The real question was, did she feel the same about him?

She was moving in, They were sharing a bed and spending nearly all of their free time together. She had taken care of him during his convalescence just as he had taken care of her during her ordeal. Their relationship was such that she was even helping him set out clothes for work; picking out whichever garments highlighted his eyes or accentuated his slightly muscular build. He in turn would help her with her hair after her shower, prepare meals for work and tell her, almost on a daily basis, how lucky he was to have her around.

In the end, in his mind, it came down to the fact that he didn't want to die a bachelor. He wanted a family. The lab guys were the closest thing he had to a family, with Nick as a sort of son and Catherine as an ex-wife that they divorced on amicable terms with. Grissom was like a brother, Warrick was like a hot headed son that needed to be reminded that the world was not perfect and Greg was like a high energy teenager. That was his family. However, he wanted blood. He wanted another son or daughter by blood and during the weeks and months, he kept looking at Sara as a possibility.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

The last of the boxes having been taped shut, Sara took one good last look at her old apartment and when she was satisfied that she'd left nothing behind, she closed and locked the front door and turned the key in to management. As she drove off to her new house she couldn't help but think that this was IT, she was moving in with Jim, but it troubled her somewhat that she didn't know where they stood, relationship wise.

She liked Jim. Hell, if anyone asked her if she loved him, she'd probably say yes. But she wanted more. She wanted stability, consistency and a family; so why not Jim? She'd seen him with kids and knew that he loved them; he was great with them. But what sort of father would he be to his own child? With the hours that he worked and the hours that she worked it would be difficult to parent a child. Sara didn't want baby sitters and nannies, she wanted to actually raise her child. She wanted to be there when her child took his or first step or said their first word. She wanted to teach them to play baseball and football as well as educate them about things that they weren't taught at school. She had a feeling that with her brains and Jim's strong stock their child would grow up to be strong and fine. A child with her intellect and Jim's good looks is what she pictured while sitting at a red light. It was then that she decided that she and Jim needed to have a talk about where they were going in their lives. The more she thought about it, the more she believed she was ready and from the signals that Jim was putting out she believed that he was ready; but for what? Was he ready for a child or was he ready for a child and a wife?

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Pulling into the drive and unloading the last of the boxes, she couldn't help but notice that every time she came back in the house Jim was looking at her. Not just looking at her as if to acknowledge her presence, but LOOKING at her as if he had something weighing heavily on his mind and he was bursting at the seams trying not to say what was on his mind.

Finally, suppertime rolled around and as they sat at the dining room table neither of them either eat much nor did they have too much to say. It wasn't until they moved into the living room and flipped on the tellie that Jim couldn't hold it in any longer. He turned to Sara and took her hand in his, rubbing the back of it with his thumb. Looking at him, she could tell he had something serious to say, so she just sat there while he spoke.

"Sar, we've known each other for a long time now and in these recent weeks and months something has been on my mind. You know I love you and would give you the world if I could, but I can't; I can only give you myself. That being said, would you be amenable to making our relationship official? But more than that…………."

Jim tried to stop his voice cracking as he tried to manage those four little words. Before he could continue, Sara interjected.

"I think I know where this is going and I've been doing a lot of thinking about it and the answer is yes. I will have you. I will hold you. I will care for you, both in sickness and in health, but more than that I am forever yours."

A bit taken aback by her response, all Jim could do was sit there and stare at her for a few moments before remembering the contents of his jeans pocket. He slid off the couch and dropped to one knee and removed a lovely ring studded with sapphires and emeralds. Placing it on her finger, her slowly got up and wrapped his arms around her in a very tight hug.

So, now were they not only going out, officially, but they were engaged. Jim was so happy in thins moment that a few tears ran down his cheeks. As for Sara, she had made her decision, but in the back of her mind, she somehow always knew that she and Jim would eventually end up together, and after all that they'd been through during the past months she was more sure of this than of anything else in her life.


End file.
